Princess & Ninja: A Feudal Fairytale
by DarkHonour
Summary: ON HIATUS This story depicts how Kurogane went through thick and thin to serve his beloved princess Tomoyo loyally...or lovingly...
1. All Bad Boys Must Be Sent Away

**SPECIAL THANKS: **I would like to thank those Tomoyo X Kurogane fanfic writers. It is because of this that I was inspired to write this fanfic. P

**COPYRIGHT INFORMATION: **I officially declare that the characters in this story belong to CLAMP, and I do not have the right to declare them as my own. The story written here is purely fictional. Any resemblance to any events related to readers is purely coincidental. (This is the long version here; I'll write a shorter version in the next chapter.)

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Hiya! Welcome to the debut chapter of this story. I would like to thank again those writers who had used the Tomoyo X Kurogane pairings in their stories. The first chapter is basically a rough enactment related to the first few chapters of the manga or the first few episodes of the anime of Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles. Other than that, please enjoy reading this story! )

**ASSUMPTIONS CREATED PURELY OUT OF FICTION: **1. Tomoyo is about the same age as Kurogane; 2. The entire setting is set in Kyoto the capital of Japan; 3. Hmm…nothing else. Just use these assumptions. ;)

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**CHRONICLE ONE: ALL BAD BOYS MUST BE SENT AWAY _by _xXredEMPTionXx**

It was a rather still and full moon night. The moon shone its brightest on the land of Japan. On one of the rooftops of a certain building was a certain ninja with a sword perched on his shoulder. He wore dark clothing with a certain black cape flowing along with the wind. The moon shone behind him, only revealing his figure.

"Weak! Weak!" The ninja cried out to all below him. "Isn't there anyone stronger out there?" He gave a sinister laugh knowing that he was the strongest in all of the land of Japan. His fiery red eyes looked all over the city, with no danger in sight.

_Kurogane here shall go down in history as the strongest ninja in Japan!_

He continued to stare at the city below him, his mind self-boasting his strength within.

A teenage girl looked at the beautiful night lit by the full moon. She was in colorful clothing, that of imperial garb. Sitting on her long flowing hair was a headdress that symbolized the royalty of her land. In her mind she was trying to think of a poem to suit the beauty of the serene night.

"Tomoyo-_hime_!" The princess turned back to see that one of her ninja guards had arrived to report something grave to her. Her mind began to fill with the image of someone she would expect to be giving trouble. The ninja made a kowtow to her imperial highness.

"What is going on, may I know?" Tomoyo asked gently to her guard.

"Kurogane-_san _is killing the people who attempted a coup in our castle," the ninja replied back with politeness. The word 'kill' rang around in Tomoyo's mind. She remained calm as usual.

"Is that really true, Souma?" She questioned her ninja guard. The princess knew that the guard who she knew well was always a reckless person. "I told him to refrain from needless killing."

"I'm sorry, _hime-sama_," Souma replied back, still on her knees.

"You have done no wrong, Souma," Tomoyo responded back to Souma's apologies. The princess continued her gaze at the moonlit night. "This is it, then."

Souma looked up at her princess. Tomoyo was always speaking in abstract terms in which both she and Kurogane could not comprehend. Either way, her language was always in poetry form, or either in some way designed to make no one understand.

"I guess there is no way to avoid it," the princess replied, closing her eyes momentarily. "Let's go see Kurogane-_san_ now." She turned to the ninja. "Where is he?"

"Near the Gate of Mercy," Souma replied back to the princess who gave a slight nod before proceeding slowly to the whereabouts of Kurogane.

"Souma-_san_, please go ahead to meet Kurogane first," Tomoyo ordered. "I'll catch up with you soon after."

"I AM THE STRONGEST IN THIS LAND!" Kurogane the black ninja shouted to the entire area. "I'M THE GREATEST SLAYER IN THIS LAND!"

"Please stop your nonsense, Kurogane-_san_," he heard a familiar voice who arrived near him. "The princess has been informed that you have slain innocent people."

"Innocent? You call this people innocent?" He pointed to a distant area where the slain bodies of the people who had attempted a coup in the palace. "Tomoyo and an idiot like you will never know how to be merciless!"

_Souma is the most irritating person I ever met! She's been making me bad in front of Tomoyo since she came to her service!_

"Kurogane-_san_," Souma spoke gently to the black ninja. "Can't you be nice for once to your fellow ninja? After all, we are the personal guards of the princess."

"Bah! A nice person always gets her just desserts!" He argued back loudly, expressing his dislike for the ninja who took away the attention of the princess ever since she came. "Who cares about being nice and merciful when others will take advantage of it? You and Tomoyo are really naïve!"

"Who is the naïve person here, may I ask?" Kurogane heard another gentle voice who had appeared beside Souma. "It may be you here who could be naïve instead." The ninja's eyes widened with mild shock at Tomoyo's words.

"_Hime-sama_," he spoke to the princess with the most respect. "What I have done definitely is worthy because these people are attempting a coup on you." He replied back to the princess who was giving him a gentle stare that softened his heart, and yet putting fear in him too. The only thing that Kurogane feared was the princess' anger and sadness.

Tomoyo shook her head slightly, looking at Kurogane again. "What you have done is unforgivable," she answered his reason. "These people may have tried to oppose me, but it is naturally to forgive them for their wrongdoings."

"Tomoyo-_hime, _these people are trained assassins, and they are weak ones," he tried to reason with the princess. "It's a way to test my great strength!" He gave a slightly smirk which quickly faded when the princess suddenly had a solemn look.

_This is it. The princess isn't happy about this, and I'll be surely punished!_

"Kurogane," she spoke with a serious tone and with a solemn look in her eyes. "Once again you have disobeyed my orders." She looked at him closely, eye to eye.

"_Hime_," the black ninja spoke with a disappointed look that she was going to punish him for killing people that tried to attempt on the princess' life. "I got rid of all the disgraceful people who took over Shiragashi castle. You have no complaints?"

"My order was not to kill needlessly."

"To kill anyone who attacks is one of the ninja rules, Tomoyo-_hime_."

"Was there such a rule?" Souma whispered near Tomoyo's side. The princess received the message clearly. "Tomoyo-_sama_, is Kurogane lying?"

"I've never heard of that rule before," the princess replied back sharply. She knew that Kurogane had no longer any reasons to argue with her.

"Aa!" He gave a look of desperation, wanting to scratch his head for more reasons but none came. "Shut up!"

"Kurogane!" Souma shouted back in defense of the princess. "How can you talk that way to the princess!" The black ninja was oblivious of what Souma had exclaimed back.

"It's fine, Souma," Tomoyo looked at her loyal ninja. She looked back, and tried to make a face of exhaustiveness. "Like Souma why can't they be all nice and why is Kurogane so mean like he is?"

"Ninjas aren't good or bad," Kurogane replied abruptly to her. "I want to be stronger than anyone else. That's why I fight. Whether I live or die, no one cares."

_Just like you, Tomoyo-hime._

"Is that so? In this country who is as strong as you," Tomoyo questioned Kurogane's rationale for being a ninja. "I have no other choice." Tomoyo began to cast a certain magical spell which began to form a certain red aura and gas-like substance that began to encircle the black ninja.

_I guess this is the only way to correct him…_

"What? What's happening?" Kurogane was questioning in confusion, his face simply a confused and shocked look as the magical spell encircled him. Suddenly, the aura grabbed hold of his limbs which caused a panic within him.

"A person used to say this a lot: A bad kid would be sent on a journey," Tomoyo cited a certain fake example to counter his crap earlier.

"No one said that!" He knew that the princess was trying to attack him back earlier for the rubbish he had spouted.

"Right now you're going to another world," Tomoyo spoke with a gentle look on her face and in her eyes. The aura had started to engulf Kurogane within, and he was sinking into it like quicksand did. The ninja's eyes were widening with much more panic.

_Tomoyo-hime is sending me away instead of that freaking Souma?_

"Don't send me away!" He cried back to his princess. She was not listening to what he was saying. "You don't have to be that extreme!"

"You'll probably meet many new people," she spoke back, informing him of his predicament. "There you'll find the real meaning of strength." Tomoyo closed her eyes for a brief moment.

"For that," she reopened her eyes and gave a smile. "It's hard for us to part, but I will give you a send-off." She was chuckling slowly with Souma still in the background looking at what was happening.

"No, you're sending me off by force!" Tomoyo suddenly was reminded of something.

"Ahhh, yes," she remembered what she had to do. Her hands did some skill to produce a holographic magical glyph of mystical origin. "One more thing, you'll have a spell set on you." Speaking a few magical words, the glyph shot towards Kurogane as it impacted onto his helmet producing a large impression on it.

"What's this?" He demanded to know.

_Stupid Tomoyo! How can she send me away just for killing people mercilessly?_

"A curse. So that you won't kill needlessly anymore," Tomoyo explained back. "Each time you kill someone, your powers will decrease, so be careful." Her face was back to a solemn look again.

"DON'T FOOL AROUND, TOMOYO!" He was sinking up to the point that only his head was visible.

"Stop yelling at the princess!" Souma interrupted once again, sighing that Kurogane was always that fresh to her.

"But, there is some chance," he looked at Tomoyo sinisterly. "That we'll meet again."

_He's right…we'll meet again in other worlds…maybe?_

"YOU! I'LL REMEMBER THIS, YOU BITCH!" Kurogane's sword sunk into the aura before it vanished. He was gone. Gone to the next world.

"_Hime-sama…_" Souma was still confused by the remnants of Kurogane in which the red aura had begun to disperse. "Kurogane is…"

"I sent him to 'that person'," Tomoyo answered her sole ninja. "He will be fine."

_Good luck Kurogane-chan…_

"The journey," she continued her words. "…has begun…"

_Take care…I may never be able to see you…goodbye my childhood friend…_

Tomoyo the princess closed her eyes before turning to look at her ninja.

"Souma, let's go look at the full moon and appreciate it."

**END OF CHRONICLE ONE**

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**CHRONICLE TWO: THE OSTRACIZED BOY**

**CONCLUSION: **Nothing! Just look at the title of the second chronicle, and you will know! Next week would be the publishing of the next chronicle. P This is just plainly from the manga anyway, for this chronicle. Okay, bye for now! P

**GLOSSARY: _hime – _princess; _sama – _honourific term**

**xXredEMPTionXx**


	2. The Ostracised Boy

**COPYRIGHT INFORMATION: **The characters here only belong to CLAMP, well probably for some of those that I created myself. Other than that, they are strictly the property of the CLAMP manga team of four women and they rock! smiles

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **This is where my Fanfic really starts. The previous chapter was simply about how Tomoyo got to send him Kurogane away, and also shows his deep thoughts for her too. Anyway, this is mainly the flashback of what happened before or how it all started. Okay, whatever! Just read the chronicle! P

**ASSUMPTIONS MADE: **1. Much of the city of Kyoto is Chinese influenced; 2. The people are wearing clothing that are Chinese influenced; 3. In this world of ancient Japan, nobody has red eyes...well...of course besides our famous character )

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**CHRONICLE TWO: THE OSTRACISEDBOY **_by _**xXredEMPTionXx**

The night was stormy in the large city of Kyoto where its many districts were designed in a grid-like pattern. In a portion of the nobilitydistrict just outside the palace, there was a large cry of a woman, a woman in labour. She was already exhausted from the many failed attempts to give birth to her child.

"Lady Konoe," the midwife tried to encourage the noblewoman in labour pain. "Please try harder; the baby's legs can be seen already." She gave an encouraging smile to the noblewoman. The other woman only nodded before trying to push again.

Outside the nobility house, a middle aged man came back riding on a horse with the nobility clothing of the late Heian period. Getting down from his horse, he made a dash into the house with the servants bowing down to him, the head of the noble family. As he neared his wife's room, he could hear the wailing sounds of a newborn baby. Joy filled him as he knew that his family could now have a proper heir.

The midwife, however, came out with a forlorn look on her face. The nobleman knew that something bad was going on. "What has happened, speak up," he ordered her.

"Lady Konoe has died of complications, milord," she replied back. "But you have a son now." The nobleman was of mixed emotion.

"My wife may have died, but she gave me a son," he answered solemnly. "But what is so disturbing about it, speak up."

"Apparently, your son does not have normal looking eyes," she replied back lowering her head. The nobleman rushed into the room, with his wife passed away and with the baby boy covered in white cloth. Taking a closer look at his son, he took a step backward disturbed by what he had seen.

"This isn't my son!" He cried out which made the baby cry again. "This is the offspring of a demon!" The nobleman ran out of the room at instance. The midwife came in again, knowing that the nobility would not accept such a wretched offspring of a demon. She looked at the child, with him looking back at her with his fiery red irises.

The midwife shook her head only.

It was a fine sunny day in the central area in the palace. A girl about four with her long black hair came in front of the mirror covered with dragon carvings. She was dressed in a simple pink kimono that was fastened by a simple red sash. Definitely, she was pleased with what she was wearing.

"_Oneesama,_" she cried out back to the older girl sitting at the other side in the room who was being dressed in a blue kimono with a red sash by other chambermaids. "Why can't we just wear our normal clothing to go to the market? After all, we can show how nice our own clothing is."

"We can't let the commoners find out that we are from the palace," her sister replied while using a hand gesture to correct a chambermaid's error in fixing her kimono. "And it'll be fun going to the market too which I heard contains much goods from all over the country."

"But…" the little girl questioned her sister again. "It won't make the people angry…"

"No buts, Tomoyo-_chan_," her elder sister interrupted. "You'll be able to understand all when you're older." Tomoyo the princess only gave a confused sign in reply. Her elder sister placed a final hair piece in her head of hair to keep it still.

"I am done," she signaled to her little sister. "Let's go to the market now." Tomoyo nodded and ran after her sister who was accompanied by a few other maids who were also dressed in the clothing of the Kyoto common folk.

_Can't we just wear our normal clothing there…?_

By the time Tomoyo had maintained her thoughts, they were already out of the palace gates. Suddenly, she felt her sister's big hand wrap around her small one. She looked up to see her sister's smile which reassured her of safety. "Be careful outside the palace," the elder princess warned. "It is never safe once on the streets of the capital." They began to walk slowly as they blended into the busy street just outside the palace gates. To her elder sister, walking along the streets of Kyoto was like having to watch out, but to Tomoyo it was just a simple breezy and enjoyable walk.

"It only costs one yen for this _nikuman_," the seller spoke out as Tomoyo looked at the wooden tray used to cook the meat buns. She looked back at the seller with a sparkling look in her eyes.

"Can I have it?" She was going to ask her elder sister to buy the meat bun for her when she discovered nobody behind her. "_Oneesama?_"

"I think your sister went to the other store next to this," the meat bun seller spoke in a kindly tone. "Perhaps you should wait for her to come back here when she finds you missing." Before the seller could know it, Tomoyo was already at the edge of his store.

"It's okay, Mr. _Nikuman­_-seller," she turned her head back to thank him. "I'll go get her myself."

"This girl is so reckless," the meat bun seller commented as Tomoyo left the shop. "Was she never trained to be streetwise?" He would never know the answer.

"_Oneesama_!" Tomoyo cupped her hands together to project her voice at the next store. There was no one there except for the store owner himself who was selling fabrics. He stared at her in shock and surprise since the little girl was alone by herself with no one to guide her.

"Your sister isn't here, little girl!"

"Thank you!" Tomoyo gave a short bow to the store owner. The words of advice from her sister rang in her head.

_Oneesama told me to bow whenever someone helped me…_

"Where could she be?" the little princess walked along the various stores talking to herself, knowing that it seemed forever to find her imperial sister. "Surely, the city isn't this big, right?" The princess continued to walk along the different shop houses lining the street, with no one along her.

"Take that!" She heard a voice coming from a narrow alleyway, together with the sound of people kicking something. "You stupid idiotic son of a demon!" Curious to know, she ran into the alleyway to find out about the commotion.

"Idiot half-human!"

"Heathen devil!"

The sight greeted the little princess with a group of five boys kicking one certain black haired boy in the centre who had curled up into a ball to protect himself. They were kicking him violently, with much red marks on his arms to be seen. The victim seemed to be wearing clothes she had never seen in such a bad condition, that of torn rags.

"Stop that!" She cried out to the group of boys who were probably much older than her. "How can you bully someone younger than you?" The largest boy, probably the leader, turned and walked towards the princess.

_These people deserve to be punished for what they have done…!_

"Who are you to ask us to stop?" The eldest boy sneered at Tomoyo, his arms on his hips. The princess stared at him fiercely, with an aggressive look in her eyes. He gave a yawn. "I don't fight girls, ya know?"

"But he doesn't deserve to be…"

"Beaten?" He interrupted. The boy gave a large laugh, suddenly making Tomoyo notice that the boy too was wearing a kimono of a lower quality of cotton. "He deserves it. After all, he is not a human!" The injured boy lied on the hard ground still shivering with fear.

"He looks human to me," Tomoyo stared back at the boy who was beginning to become fearful of this girl younger than him. "And I order you to stop hitting him!" She was starting to behave like she was in the palace.

_Oh no! Now they'll know that I'm not a commoner…!_

"Order?" The boy gave a loud laugh, followed by the other four boys in his gang. He laughed until he had shed tears from his eyes. "Who are you? Some bigshot?"

"I am a princess!" The only response was that of the five boys laughing away.

"For a young person like you," the big boy replied back suddenly impressed with her. "You're really a courageous and humourous person. I'm beginning to like you!" He placed a large hand on her small shoulder in which she shrugged it off.

"Just leave that boy alone."

"Fine, but on one condition," he responded to her. "If you can prove you do have power, I'll leave him alone but it's your fault if the people blame you." Her stance was not moved at all, in just a calm state.

_How can I show him power?_

Without knowing what was happening, Tomoyo's eyes began to dilate as she began to think hard. A certain blue aura surrounded her as her mouth began to speak on its own suddenly. In due time, she raised a finger in which a magical lightning bolt shot out electrocuting the boy. He was shocked for a moment before returning to normal.

"Yikes!" He suddenly distanced himself from Tomoyo. The other boys also had a fearful look in their eyes at this strange phenomenon. "You're some kind of monster, aren't you?" In less than a few minutes, the group of boys had ran away deep into the alley frightened by what Tomoyo had done.

_What was that…that I had just done…?_

She walked slowly to the injured boy. He had short hair for some strange reason, and he was badly injured especially with a bruised eye and an injured mouth. On his body were grey rags that had significantly large holes in it. She knelt down beside him, looking at his face.

_He does look cute without those bruises and injuries…_

The boy stirred, opening his eyes to reveal blood red irises. Tomoyo gave a draw back at his look. His red eyes alone were already intimidating to her, but luckily he was looking at the sky.

"What's wrong? Frightened?" He suddenly spoke, and got up to look at her with his red glare. "That's right. I'm the child of the devil."

"No you're not," Tomoyo replied back which surprised him. For the first time, nobody had ever said that he was not some wretched demonic offspring. "You…you…you are just special…with those red eyes."

_Did she just call me…special…?_

"I…I…I saw you being bullied by this group of boys," she spoke a little unable to know what to speak next. "So I decided to save you…" The red eyed boy looked at her surprised.

"It's no point," he looked down at the ground instead of staring at the princess. "Everyone here hates me. I wish I was never born with red eyes."

"It is bestowed by heaven that you were born with it," Tomoyo answered back his pessimism. "Maybe those red eyes had a purpose. They look fierce though."

"T-t-thank you," he stammered for a moment. He had always been shy, and never liked to talk to people since he was always neglected by everyone. "H-how c-can I-I rep-pay you b-back?"

"What is your name?" Tomoyo gave a wide grin that gave the boy a hot flush due to his shyness. She stood near him, noticing that he was only a little taller than her. "Mine is Tomoyo."

"I-I have no name," he replied back to the princess. "People only either call me names like demon or devil or such."

"Can I call you Kuro-_chan_?" Tomoyo asked still smiling. "After all, you somehow look black to me."

"I don't mind," came his reply. He gave a small smile, but tried to control it. "As long as it is something not bad."

"You shouldn't frown," Tomoyo commented. "You have a very cute smile actually."

_She called me cute…?_

Kuro-chan's face was in surprise. For the first time ever, no one has ever complimented him to the extent of making him blush or smile yet. Before him was someone who he could really consider close to him.

"Now…" Tomoyo began to speak more seriously again. "Can we go find my sister?"

Kuro-chan nodded in reply. For what they knew, it was the start of a bond that would last for almost two decades…

**END OF CHRONICLE TWO**

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**CHRONICLE THREE: LOST IN THE CITY**

**CONCLUSION: **Tomoyo the princess and the outcast Kuro-_chan _are finding the former's elder sister. However, Kyoto is so big that it is definitely difficult to find her. Meanwhile, a smart plot is hatched to capture the young princess in the city before the imperial guards can find her. Can Kuro-_chan _devise a plan to protect the young princess from these people, and ensure that he gets her back to the imperial palace? Watch out for next week's chapter, Lost in the City!

**GLOSSARY: **_oneesama _– just a honourific term for 'elder sister'; _Heian_ – the ancient period of Japan where Chinese influence was at its highest

**xXredEMPTionXx**


	3. Lost in the City

**COPYRIGHT INFORMATION: **The characters here only belong to CLAMP, well probably for some of those that I created myself. Other than that, they are strictly the property of the CLAMP manga team of four women and they rock!

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **To all the reviewers out there, thank you for your reviews, and I do appreciate them very much, to that of asga & Dust-in. This is the second installment of the arc of four year old Tomoyo. On an overall basis, I won't really say this chapter is fantastic, but it is more of laying the foundations for the later plots in the later part of this story. Please read and enjoy it, thank you!

**ASSUMPTIONS MADE: **1. Like I said before, Kyoto is a city influenced by Chinese culture; 2. For some weird reason, Tomoyo already has magical powers; 3. Kurogane isn't that cold or whatsoever personality when he was young. It was caused by something later on.

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**CHRONICLE THREE: LOST IN THE CITY **_by _**xXredEMPTionXx**

"What?" The man with the tall black headdress and the white imperial garb stood up from his sitting position near the low wooden table. "You've simply let your imperial sister get lost like that. I demand an answer now, Princess Tomoko."

"_Tennou no Otousama_," the princess dressed in common attire knelt down before her imperial father, lowering down her head. She began a kowtowing ceremony of respect to her emperor father. "I was careless for being unable to take care of her. Please give me the harshest punishment."

The emperor gave a humph and looked away from his own daughter. "I'll deal with your punishment later," he spoke strictly. "We'll find Princess Tomoyo. She is one who has being blessed with the special abilities of our blood, and losing her is not an option."

"_Arigatou gozaimasu, Tennou no Otousama_," Tomoko_-hime _replied back closing her eyes.

"But," the imperial symbol spoke back to his own kin. "You'll stay in the palace to do self-reflection by re-reading the Confucian analects once again."

The princess looked up at her father. After all, he was a benevolent ruler in the land of Japan who did not really mean the harsh things he had said. She had just been granted with a lenient punishment of self-reflection indirectly ordered by her imperial parent.

_Please come soon…Tomoyo-chan…_

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"Tomoyo-_ojousama_," Kuro-chan panted as he followed the energetic princess. They had been searching for the elder princess who had seemed to be nowhere in sight. "You should rest. We have been searching for a rather long time. The sun is already setting."

"Please don't call me _ojousama_," Tomoyo stopped to turn to her newly-found companion, giving a smile which softened the seemingly fierce look in his red eyes.

"I don't care," he replied back sarcastically and folding his arms. "I call anyone at my own will!"

"So…" the princess spoke softly with a sad tone in her voice suddenly. "You…you don't treat me as a friend?" Her eyes were suddenly warm and watery. Kuro-chan looked at the suddenly sad princess, and was at a loss.

"Hey...!" Kuro-chan had a panicky look on his face, with panic shown in his eyes. "Don't cry! People will think I'm bullying you! Okay, anything, I'll call you Tomoyo-_sama_."

"It doesn't have a touch of being friendly still," the princess responded back with still a sad tone.

"Okay, I'll call you Tomoyo-_san_ instead!"

She was quick to show a happy face again. The boy next to her only showed signs of embarrassment for making a girl cry as his red face showed. Together, they walked through the back alleys of the shop houses to find her elder sibling.

"Kuro-chan," Tomoyo blurted out abruptly as she continued to look for her elder sister in the thick crowd of the street. The sky had become orange and the sun was already setting. Little did the princess and the outcast boy knew that this task was as impossible as finding a needle in a haystack. "How did you survive in these streets?"

"I don't really know…" came his quiet but abrupt reply to her question. He placed both of his arms behind his short black hair. "…all I know is that I always ate the food left by the shops, or fighting with others over it, Tomoyo-_san_."

"The others, Kuro-chan?"

"Those idiot homeless boys found here," he replied back sharply with a bit of anger in his tone.

"Those who bullied you?" There was a moment of silence after Tomoyo's words.

"Yes."

Tomoyo knew that Kuro-chan was indeed an ostracized child that was despised by the society, but she didn't know much. "Let's continue finding my sister," she changed the topic after much consideration that was originally to probe further into her companion's life.

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"Lord Oda!" a sudden cry came from one of the servants in the servitude of the House of the noble Oda family. "The princess Tomoyo is missing. The news came from above."

"So what if the princess is missing, Sen?" A middle aged man in noble dress replied back at his servant. "It doesn't affect me much."

"Of course it affects you much," a ladylike voice suddenly sounded, which came in the form of a young woman in an exquisite silk kimono dress. "How can you let such a golden opportunity to slip by?"

"Since when was this a golden opportunity, _kanai-ue_?"

"The princess Tomoyo is the favoured subject of the imperial house," she explained in an analytical manner. Narrowing her eyes, she produced an evil smile which obviously was that of an attempt to do something unorthodox. "If we can somehow make the princess disappear, the influential Fujiwara house would be humiliated by their inability to protect her and we can influence the emperor more to kick out that wretched family."

Lord Oda thought for a moment, and suddenly produced a sinister grin too. "Your ideas are always great, _kanai-ue_," he replied back in unison.

Little did they know that their faithful servant was hearing all of these and knew that something bad was going to happen. Sen the servant gave a silent bow and proceeded to exit the main room of the noble house.

"Sen," Lady Oda suddenly ordered him from behind. "Do not breathe a word of what we have just discussed."

"Yes, madam."

"If you do so," the lady of the noble family held up a certain pink cherry blossom. Without warning, she clenched her fist and crushed it readily. "You'll end up like this poor flower. And so will the young princess share the same fate as it."

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"Tomoyo-_san_," Kuro-chan said his words again silently with much hesitance. "It is already late. You should be going home."

"And what about you?"

"I…I have no home," he answered back to the princess. "I'll just sleep in the streets."

"That won't do," she rebutted his words. "I can't let you sleep in such terrible conditions."

"I'm fine with it!" Kuro-chan replied in a strong tone, trying to act tough in front of her. "A girl like you should rest in better places like your home." Tomoyo looked at him, which made him a little uneasy on the inside.

"Kuro-chan," Tomoyo suddenly smiled back at the young boy, which made him feel bad in his heart. "Then I'll join you in sleeping in the streets."

_You're really stupid to let her sleep in the streets…_

"DON'T!" He suddenly exclaimed out at the princess in which his comical action was enough to make Tomoyo have a few giggles.

"Why not? After all, it is better to have company," she produced a kindly look on her face. Kuro-chan knew that it was definitely difficult to resist her offer, for he had been lonely for much of the time, or all the time since time immemorial. However, his mind was full of hesitation at the thought of letting such an upper class person to sleep in the streets with him.

"Well…"

"Well I don't mind anything," Tomoyo replied back to console his reluctance. "We can continue to find my sister tomorrow."

"Shouldn't your sister be back at home by now?" Kuro-chan questioned, seeing that the street was already quite empty since it was already dark and many have returned to their respective homes to rest. "You can go back to your home to tell your father if your sister is missing."

"I want to find my sister myself," Tomoyo answered back to her companion's query, and showed a determination in her eyes. "I don't believe in failing now."

_She's quite mature in thinking despite her age…_

"Something wrong?" Tomoyo asked the pondering Kuro-chan as he looked into blank space. Although he was a little rude and somehow shy too, he was a thinker all the time who had much things going through his head at times.

"Nothing is wrong," he replied back abruptly as soon as he had come to his senses. "Let's find a place to rest." Tomoyo nodded in response.

---------------------------------------------------

"It looks…cozy," the princess commented as she looked at a corner of the wall of the alley. Kuro-chan had found some straws and haystacks as a blanket to protect against the cold. "Do you sleep like that all the time?"

He was reluctant to comment on anything. It was obvious that almost any homeless person would have such a place to sleep in for the night. He suddenly lowered his head, giving a dark look to the princess.

"I'm sorry, Tomoyo-_ojousama_," he suddenly became respectful of her. "This is the best I could help you. After all, you're probably used to a comfortable home, and your father would probably be worried about you."

"My father has other worries than me alone," she suddenly spoke solemnly and in a soft, sad tone. "He has more problems than to worry about me." She crept behind the straws and haystacks which warmed her body. Suddenly, she noticed that Kuro-chan was not going to share the 'blanket' with her.

"Sorry…I'll find myself some other alternatives to warm myself."

Tomoyo looked at the condition of his garments. It was tattered and torn, with no one caring whether he was ill-treated. There were several loopholes in his grey clothes, which was in the shape of an external kimono too.

"Won't you get cold?"

"Just worry about yourself!" came his cold reply towards the princess. He knew he couldn't afford to let her stay with him. Tomoyo nodded and crept behind the 'blanket', knowing well that she could not convince him to share it with her.

_Hopefully…we can find her sister tomorrow, and I can bid a final farewell to her…_

_--------------------------------------------------------_

In the deep night, in a certain alley were two sleeping children. One behind the straw blanket, and the other one just sleeping and shivering from the cold. Two dark figures appeared in the alley as they approached the princess in slumber.

"Your Imperial Highness, Princess Tomoyo," one of the dark figures suddenly bowed to her, and shook her to awaken her. "We have finally found you."

"Who…Who are you people?" She suddenly stirred from her sleep, opening her eyes. "Did you find my sister?"

"Yes, your highness."

"Then I can return home," Tomoyo gave a small smile with a heave of relief. Turning her head to the sleeping Kuro-chan, she looked back at one of the dark figures who had shown himself as a masked ninja. "Can I bring him along too?"

"Absolutely not," came the reply from the ninja. "He is way below you to enter the palace."

"But…"

Her speech was to be suddenly stopped by the other ninja cupping her mouth and suddenly putting her small frame over his shoulder. Shocked by what was happening, she was unable to shout or do anything as she watched the figure of the sleeping Kuro-chan getting smaller and smaller.

**END OF CHRONICLE THREE**

**

* * *

**

**CHRONICLE FOUR: THE RESCUE OF THE PRINCESS**

**CONCLUSION: **Tomoyo the princess has been captured by some strange ninjas. Are they really from the imperial palace or were they hired by the plotting nobles to use her as a trump card? Can Kuro-chan devise some plan to save the princess this time? But the problem is that he is only a small child, and he cannot do anything. Watch out for the next chapter The Rescue of the Princess!

**GLOSSARY: **_tennou no otousan _– 'honourable father', a term to respect the emperor as father; _arigatou gozaimasu _– Japanese honourific for 'thank you'; _ojousama_ – technically means 'young mistress' in Japanese, used by servants; _kanai-ue_ – honourific for 'wife', used in my story for the wives of nobles


	4. Rescue of the Princess

**COPYRIGHT INFORMATION: **The characters here only belong to CLAMP, well probably for some of those that I created myself. Other than that, they are strictly the property of the CLAMP manga team of four women and they rock!

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Thank you again for your reviews. You know who you are who I am thanking. I do hope that there can be more inspirations for me to continue the story. And oh yes, this story will start off like a manga chapter system. This means that there will be short arcs and so, and all these arcs will combine together to make this story. Okay, for example, this chapter is the last part of this current arc. Well…the next will be…hmmm…will tell later at the end. And I'll write some comments at the bottom later. Have fun reading!

**ASSUMPTIONS MADE: **1. Kurogane was more timid in his childhood because of trauma of being bullied; 2. May contain concepts borrowed from Gundam Seed / Destiny.

* * *

**CHRONICLE FOUR: RESCUE OF THE PRINCESS **_by _**xXredEMPTionXx**

The Sun had risen, and the streets had become busy once again as a new day arrived. In the dark alleys of the streets, a boy no less than six years of age, with black hair and red eyes, was suddenly pushed against the wall by a group of older boys.

"Where is the girl?" The eldest boy demanded, grabbing hold of Kuro-chan's neck and pushing his back against the cold grey stone wall. The little boy could only try to resist by attempting to pull away the strong arm pushing him up against the wall.

"I-I d-don't know!" He could only defend himself timidly through his weak voice. After all, he was still young and was unable to resist the boys who were several years ahead of him in age and in strength too. "She was gone when I woke up."

"_Temee baka-yarou_," he replied back, attempting to compress Kuro-chan's neck. The boy with red eyes tried to cling for dear life as he tried to pull away the strong grip of the big bully. "I told you so. If you made her disappear I'll kill you, devil's offspring."

_Help me…Tomoyo-sama…I can't breathe…_

The grip on Kuro-chan's neck began to get tighter as the big bully attempted to strangle him. The black-haired boy could only resist back by trying to push back the arm grip.

_I don't believe in failing._

The image of Tomoyo flashed in his mind. The night before, she had displayed her determination to find her sister no matter how bad the conditions were. More images began to flash through his mind, with that of her smiling or showing enthusiasm in a world of sadness.

_You're right…Failure does not need to be believed…_

A mysterious phenomenon occurred. Suddenly, with his determination, Kuro-chan pulled away the bully's strong grip on his neck. His irises dilating until there was only the red color with only a single small dot as his pupil. Kuro-chan stared fiercely at the group of older boys, who were stunned by his immense supernatural strength. The eldest boy, who had earlier pushed him against the wall, had fallen to the ground as a result.

"W-what are you?" He stammered for a moment, still shocked at what had just happened. He pointed a trembling finger at the young boy who had just overwhelmed him in strength. "That wasn't something human...!"

"I…I don't believe in failure!" Kuro-chan shouted out to him, his fists clenched as he stared aggressively at the bigger boy through his fiery red eyes which created fear in the group of boys. "I…I'll find _ojousama_, even if she was taken to all ends of this country!"

"Suit yourself!" The other boy answered back in fear. "Y-you are some demonic offspring! Get away from us!" He beckoned to the rest of the group before running off together with them back into the bright streets brimming with much people.

"I…I…I won the fight?" Kuro-chan spoke to himself, his eyes returning back to a normal state as he panted from the sudden outburst of strength. All of a sudden, he heard abrupt clapping coming from behind him. "Who's there?"

"Excellent, boy," came the reply from behind. He turned to see a towering figure wearing a straw hat to cover his own visage, and clapping once again. "So you really are of potential after all."

"Huh?"

---------------------------------------------

The young princess stirred to find herself lying on a mattress with a white silk blanket covering her. Rubbing her head, she remembered being carried off by the masked ninjas while she saw the figure of sleeping Kuro-chan becoming smaller and smaller. Getting up, she noticed the room was already too splendid to be a commoner's home since the sliding doors had pictures of cherry blossoms, and there was the smell of specially brewed tea emanating from a certain porcelain cup.

"Where…where is this place?" She continued to scan the room for any significant features. "This can't be a house in the city. _Oneesama _told me once how to see a commoner's home." There was no soul in sight, except for that of hers.

_Could I have been in the palace already, after all?_

She got up to explore the room. No doubt. It was indeed a place where only the nobility and the palace could create such a room. The windowless rice walls covered the room on all four sides, with the exception of one which had a few windows in which rays of sunlight shone through it. Eager to know the vicinity of the house, Tomoyo ran to find out her location. Tiptoeing to look through the window, her eyes saw that there were other houses too outside but enclosed with a large residential wall. There were several rock formations and fountains built with ponds on the green grass outside too.

"A noble home?" She questioned herself. "But which noble family? There are already over a hundred of them."

"Good morning, _himesama_," Tomoyo heard a voice from behind. She turned back to see a woman in an exquisite kimono who had knelt down and bowed before her. "Did you have a peaceful sleep?"

"Who are you?" Tomoyo asked the woman who had suddenly bowed down before her. "Why am I here?"

"Pardon my insolence, your highness," she answered back still not looking at the princess. "I am your loyal subordinate, Lady Yamazaki." The noble woman cleared her throat for a moment. "By an order of the Fujiwara family, my family is obliged to protect you from the plotting Oda family."

_What is this lady talking about? She speaks a lot of funny terms…_

Lady Yamazaki looked up at the princess, and suddenly discovered that she had been carried away in her words. Giving a slight laugh, she began to speak again. "Forgive me for confusing you, _himesama_," she reprimanded herself. "I forgot that the _himesama _is only a young girl, and doesn't understand anything."

Tomoyo gave an 'uhhh' look. After all, she couldn't comprehend what this noble woman was speaking at all. "Where is my sister?" She could only ask one important question. "Is she lost?"

"Tomoko-_himesama _has already returned to the palace, your highness," Lady Yamazaki replied back with honourifics added into her language. "You need not worry about her anymore."

"What about Kuro-chan?"

"Who is it, your highness?"

"Kuro-chan."

"Is he a commoner?" Lady Yamazaki answered back, confused at what the princess was saying.

"He's not a commoner!" Tomoyo replied back at instance of the word 'commoner'. "He's my friend!"

"Tomoyo-_himesama_," the noble woman responded back to her. "Commoners and us nobility never mix. It is never possible." Noticing that the princess was greatly upset by her own sweeping statement, the noble lady took a deep bow before Tomoyo again. "I shall take my leave first, your highness. You're free to roam the Yamazaki residence at your own will."

The little princess perched out at the window again, and looked in the far distance of the city littered with much of the shop houses and temples. The commoner sections of the city.

_Kuro-chan is somewhere out there…I wonder where?_

_---------------------------------------------------_

"Those eyes," Kuro-chan was confused at what the man with the straw hat had mentioned earlier about words he had never heard before. "I have never seen anyone with red eyes before."

"I hate anything red!" The boy threw his tantrum as the mysterious man commented. Walking to a nearby pebble, he kicked it into a far off place. "I wish I had normal eyes."

"How would you see 'normal' as?" Came the sudden comment on Kuro-chan's words. "Does it mean that everything would have to be perfect? Two eyes? Four limbs? A single nose and mouth?" He took off his straw hat to shock the little boy.

There was a big scar on the tall man's face, that of one which streaked from his left temple to over his closed left eye and extending down to a little above the upper lip. Kuro-chan took a step back, shocked by the man's hideous look.

"Nobody can control your fate, boy," he replied back replacing the straw hat on his head again to cover his scarred face. "Live to the fullest. You'll be a great warrior to whoever hires your service in future." The warrior, as indicated by the two long curved sword sheaths hanging from his waist, began to walk away into the busy streets, leaving a confused Kuro-chan.

"Wait!" The little boy realized his senses that this was an opportunity to become strong. "When can we meet again?"

"If fate decides so, boy."

"I want you to make me strong," Kuro-chan ran in front of the warrior and knelt down before him. "Could you take me in as a student, mister?"

"Your eyes do not show sincerity," came the sudden slow reply. "Your mind is preoccupied at the same time."

_I want to become strong…to protect others…_

"I…I want to see someone for the last time," Kuro-chan replied back continuing to kneel on the floor. "Allow me to do so please…_sensei_."

"Very well," the warrior answered back at the boy's request. "But…"

His words were to be cut short by a certain deafening sound of an explosion in a nearby district. There was a sudden outburst of fire that emerged from one of the houses.

"The corrupted and bickering nobles of Kyoto," he commented with disgust. "Always fighting with each other for the favour of the imperial household, and creating an internal crisis."

It suddenly dawned on Kuro-chan finally that Tomoyo could have belonged to such a social class, given her elegant ness and her good manners. He suddenly began to worry if that house was that of her family's.

_I've got to find out…_

On impulse, the boy with the red eyes ran towards the nobility district of the city. Turning his head back to his teacher, he shouted back, "I'll be back soon!"

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The noble woman clutched her shoulder which was bleeding from a _shuriken _attack. Her silk kimono now stained with much blood, with one other hand guiding the young princess.

"_Himesama_, pardon me for my carelessness," Lady Yamazaki spoke out weakly as she tried to stop the bleeding. "I didn't expect them to attack in the day."

"Lady Yamazaki," Tomoyo replied back with concern at the profuse bleeding. "You shouldn't move much. The bleeding will worsen like that."

"It is the duty of my family to protect the imperial household," she rebutted the princess' advice. "To think the Oda family would use such despicable methods to bribe our servants into becoming informers!"

"It's not your fault," the princess replied back.

"Are we going to stay here or move?" She answered back, pointing to the flames which had engulfed several rooms already.

It was not long before the noble woman and young princess had made their way onto the garden of the house. There was no one to be in sight, which created suspicion in Yamazaki's mind. It was definitely too easy to let the princess escape.

"Alright, come out where you are from!" The noble woman shouted to the entire area. It was sudden that a squad of seven samurai class warriors came out from their hiding places. One of the samurai class warriors, probably the leader, held out a yellow scroll and opened it up. The noble woman knelt down before it.

"Lady Yamazaki," he read out the contents of the decree. "By order of the emperor, you have been found guilty of harbouring the princess in your home without telling at instance through the testimony of the Oda family. You have two choices: to be slain here, or to fight us."

"I would choose to fight," she spoke at instance in which suddenly she had stealth enough to draw out the samurai's sword and slash at him in which he fell. "A former warrior should never be underestimated."

Tomoyo could only look at the noble woman's sudden actions of attacking the samurai leader. Abruptly, the remaining warriors drew out their swords and pointed it at the Lady. She was panting and brandishing the curved blade at them, while signaling to the young princess to stay away.

_W..what's going on now?_

"Ojousama!" She heard a familiar voice from behind. Knowing who he was, she turned behind to see a boy with black hair and red eyes running towards her.

"Kuro-chan!"

"Are you okay?" He questioned and came up to her. "I heard an explosion around here, Tomoyo-_sama_."

"I told you not to call me _sama _or _ojousama_."

"Sorry," he suddenly made an expression of being embarrassed by his glitch. Tomoyo laughed at his expression.

"You're so cute!"

"You're Kuro-cham, aren't you?" He heard a shout from the lady who was brandishing her sword at the several samurai. "Take her to the horse carriage outside here! Leave here immediately!"

The young boy gave a gulp before taking Tomoyo's hand and turning back to the lady.

"What about you?"

"Never mind about me! Just go! Protect Tomoyo-_sama_!"

Kuro-chan was non-hesitant on running with Tomoyo. Together, they ran towards the gate until they were completely out of sight by the noble lady's eyes.

"Now, it's time to have some fun," she gave a slight grin as she moved her sword once again, her shoulder still bleeding but with her still going strong.

"Someone needs help here."

Lady Yamazaki looked at the source of the sound. It was a tall man with a straw hat covering his face. He looked up to show a certain hideous scar, but he also desired to have some fun in slashing too.

"You're most welcome, mister," she replied back as he drew out both swords from their sheaths.

"This is going to be fun."

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"Kuro-chan, you're leaving?" Tomoyo asked him sitting from the carriage. "Come back with me."

"Sorry, Tomoyo-_sama_," he lowered his head with a sad look on his face. "I've found my goal in life, and I probably be going away for some time."

"Don't call me Tomoyo-_sama_."

"Tomoyo-_san_," he answered back sadly and looking at her again. "So this is it."

"When can we meet?"

"If fate decides so," he responded to her query. He gave a rare smile back to her. "But I'm sure! We'll meet again!"

_I do hope he can meet me again…_

_I want to meet her again…_

Both minds interlinked as they thought of each other for the last time.

"_Ojousama_," the carriage man spoke. "We have to leave now."

Tomoyo nodded back to him. She peeked her head out of the carriage as she watched the figure of Kuro-chan becoming more distant and distant. Waving back to her, Kuro-chan knew that he was going to meet her again someday, definitely.

_When I do come back, I want to find you again someday…_

_----------------------------------------------------_

The Sun was setting by the time the warrior had returned. Kuro-chan had agreed to meet him on the city outskirts, and he was already exhausted from the action on that day. He stirred from his nap as the veteran warrior stood near him.

"Good evening, _sensei_," he stood up instantly with enthusiasm for his training.

"What is your name first, _seito_?"

"Kuro-chan," he replied back eagerly. The warrior remained silent for a while.

"From now on, your name is no longer Kuro-chan," he replied back sternly to the young budding boy with enthusiastic red eyes.

"I…I have a new name?"

"Because you will be as strong as steel in battles," the warrior looked down at his new student. "You shall be called Kurogane. Remember that."

"My name is…Kurogane," he answered back. "I am Kurogane from now on."

Only the orange sunset accompanied them.

**END OF CHRONICLE FOUR**

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**CHRONICLE FIVE: THE PRINCESS AND THE NINJA**

**CONCLUSION: **Ten years have passed since that fateful event that day. Tomoyo had almost forgotten that event as she matured into a fourteen year old child. One day, she was roaming the commoner streets when she gets into certain trouble…(new arc)

**GLOSSARY: **_temee bakayarou_ – you idiot! In Japanese; _himesama _– princess

**COMMENTS:**

Asga: well…you've got your answer, right? Thanks for your review!

Sheo Darren: Haha…next arc will be more interesting. Thanks for your review too!

PeachPonta: I haven't read your story yet…haha…took me 'bout 3 hrs to complete this story. But I really like your story too. Anyway, many thanks for yer' review!


	5. The Princess & The Ninja

**COPYRIGHT INFORMATION: **The characters here only belong to CLAMP, well probably for some of those that I created myself. Other than that, they are strictly the property of the CLAMP manga team of four women and they rock!

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Okay, this is it. The real part of this story. The first three chapters were just some background part to illustrate what would come later in this more 'major' part. So…sit back and enjoy what I'm writing, okay?

**ASSUMPTIONS MADE: **1. Kurogane is…well….in character of course; 2. Tomoyo has magical powers (hmmm….duh?); 3. Inspirations from PeachPonta's story Shattered Wings & Inuyasha for this arc.

**CHRONICLE FIVE: THE PRINCESS AND THE NINJA**

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"You're sure you don't want to come with me?" The young princess sat in the interior of the carriage, facing a boy about the same age as her. He shook his head as a response. 

"I've already found my destiny."

"_Ojousama_, we have to leave," the carriage man informed the princess. She nodded and looked back at the boy with red eyes standing on the stone floor.

"When will I meet you again?"

"Fate," he replied back as the horse carriage began to pull away from the area. She waved a hand at the boy who was just standing there on the ground, with his figure becoming smaller and smaller as the carriage gained speed.

Tomoyo opened her eyes to find that it was already daybreak. The adolescent princess got up from her mattress on the floor to hear chambermaids already working at their best even before dawn had arrived. Her mind was filled with images of the boy with red eyes and black hair from the dream she just had.

"What a weird dream," she commented to herself. From what she knew, a bad fever had plagued her a few years back which resulted in the almost complete loss of her memories. Perhaps the dream was just a reoccurrence about her past before she had the devastating illness. But the princess did not ever recall being outside the palace. For some weird reason, she was forbidden to leave the imperial residence.

"Tomoyo-_himesama_," one of the chambermaids opened the sliding doors of the royal room and knelt before her superior. "Tomoko-_himesama_ would like to see you for a while."

"Tell her I'll be there in a short while," she answered back to the chambermaid. "And thank you for informing." The chambermaid gave a bow and got up from her kneeling to return back to the elder princess' quarters.

A few other chambermaids dressed in white came into the room with the intention of changing the princess' robes into a formal one as she had only worn her inner garments for the sake of sleeping comfortably.

Tomoyo's mind was constantly pre-occupied with images of the boy with red eyes. After all, he did look a little scary if he gave a stare. "Just who he is," she spoke to herself.

"Tomoyo-_himesan_!" Her elder sister shouted at her younger sibling as she continued to look unfocused at what the former was saying. "Did you hear what I was saying?"

"Sorry _oneesama_," she bowed before her elder sibling, while showing a calm look that was required of the imperial family members to show all the time. "I was just pre-occupied with something else."

"You're pardoned," came the short answer to Tomoyo's words. "Listen. I'm going to give you a good chance."

"What good chance may you have, _oneesama_?"

"Do you want to leave the palace?"

"That is breaching of father's orders," Tomoyo replied back with a slight frown.

"Father is away from the palace," Tomoko interrupted her younger sister. "This is a good chance for you to regain some memories."

"I don't recall being out of the palace before."

"You'll when you do," came the sharp response. "I believe you may have some hidden memories still not regained."

"What if…."

"What if father comes back?" Tomoko could guess what Tomoyo was going to say. "I'll take full responsibility, and he can't humiliate me in front of the nobles since I am going to be married to one of the noble families soon."

"But…"

"No buts," Tomoko snapped at her sister's hesitance, and constant desire to abide by the rules of the palace. "You'll go with your chambermaid, Hanako. And I'll require of you to do an errand for me too." The elder princess lowered down her head with a sudden frown suddenly, before raising it again to show a happy face.

"Go to the Takahashi inn, and pass a message to the owner of the inn," she spoke as she took out a folded piece of white paper with words on it, and handling it to Tomoyo. "I may be unable to exit the palace for good," she continued her words with a sad tone.

Tomoyo could only do nothing but nod, knowing that her sister had been betrothed to one of the noble families in the imperial court. After all, her sister was quite old to be a bride already. (Well…as we all know, people in the past married quite early.)

Tomoyo was still worried about her sister even when she was getting off from the horse carriage. Hanako and her had arrived at the palace gate, in which it was start of the commoner district of the capital. Dressed in commoner clothing of plain cotton kimonos, Tomoyo knew that it was most important to perform her sister's errands.

"_Ojousama_," Hanako the chambermaid questioned her superior. "Where shall we go from here?"

"Hanako-_san_," Tomoyo suddenly spoke back to her subordinate. "From here, call me Chise. And we should first go to the Takahashi inn, as what Tomoko-_hime _had mentioned." She began to walk into the street which was, as usual, crowded with people selling their wares to earn a living.

"This is beautiful," Tomoyo exclaimed as she held a unique porcelain bowl from the stall. The stall owner, wearing a small straw hat under the heat of the summer sun, stood opposite the princess.

"_Shojo-chan_," he pointed to the porcelain bowl decorated with blue carvings of a dragon. "You do have good taste. It's made in China." Suddenly, he was met with the cold stare of the girl beside Tomoyo.

"Who gave you the right to address her as _shojo-chan_?" Hanako was aggressive in her tone at the stall holder's insolence.

"Hanako, please stop."

"But _ojousama_!"

"It is okay," Tomoyo smiled back at the stall holder, assuring him that he was not being insolent in calling her a mere young girl. Placing down the China ware, she gave another kindly smile again. "You do have a good taste too."

Little did the princess know that she was being watched carefully.

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"Hey boy, watch where you are going!" There was a certain commotion in the street as Tomoyo noticed the crowd which was gathering. Pushing herself through it to see what was going on; there was a confrontation of a samurai with a boy with black hair and red eyes, no more than fifteen years of age. Apparently, he had accidentally knocked the samurai by the shoulder which offended him to a great extent.

The boy remained silent. He was indeed provocative by refusing to extend an apology to the samurai warrior who was still demanding an apology as compensation for the rudeness of the adolescent boy.

"YOU IDIOT! DIDN'T YOUR PARENTS TEACH YOU PROPER WAYS OF SAYING SORRY?" The samurai shouted back when the boy was preparing to leave.

"I have no upbringing," he answered coldly. "I have a teacher, but not parents. So I won't say sorry, warrior slave."

"_Omae…_!" The samurai suddenly drew out his long sword from its sheath and charged at the boy. He was just plainly calm at the samurai suddenly rushing forward at him with a long curved sword.

"Please stop," came the gentle voice of Tomoyo. Bringing herself forward to mediate, she stood in front of the samurai. "I'm sure there is a peaceful resolution to this."

_And it is unfair for him to pick on a young boy…_

"With all to your respect, young lady," the samurai placed his sword back in its sheath. "This person doesn't know a thing or two about respect, let alone apologizing. He is probably an example of a moral failure."

"I don't believe in failure."

These few words that came out of Tomoyo's mouth made the boy's eyes widen with surprise. After all, he had always heard these words ring in his head many times and had never forgotten them.

"Well, suit yourself," the samurai sneered back as he began to turn around and walk away. "Then it is better for you to go teach him a lesson!" It was not long before the samurai had walked away, together with the crowd dispersing since there was nothing to see anymore.

The boy of less than fifteen, was still there standing. He simply wore black to fit his black short hair, and a black sword sheath hanging from his waist through a string to complete his image.

"Your name," he suddenly spoke out loudly. "Is…?"

"Chise," Tomoyo replied back, giving her fake name. Turning to face his back, she gave another small smile. "What is yours then?"

"Never you mind," he replied back rudely. "I couldn't care less about giving my name to a person who solves situation by peace. You're an idiotic busybody for breaking my fight with that samurai. I could have easily defeated him, but you had to come in and end with a peaceful resolution…"

"Hey, watch your words!" Hanako argued back at the ungrateful boy. "She ended your problem without much trouble taken!"

"I'll handle my own problems!" He snapped back sharply. "Both of you are stupid wretches who like to use methods that are mainly inefficient."

"You!" Hanako argued back at the boy who was becoming ruder by the second. She stopped speaking when Tomoyo gave a signal to keep quiet.

"What's your name again?" She asked again with much patience and calmness.

_Impossible! How can she be so calm and patient at this rate?_

"A busybody like you should care about your own problems!" He shouted back abruptly and began to walk away quickly to avoid them.

"What an idiotic jerk!" Her chambermaid commented on the boy who had walked away briskly. "He doesn't appreciate anything that is supposedly good. No wonder that samurai person was right!"

"There is no need to comment, Hanako-san," Tomoyo answered back to her chambermaid's words, and gave another assuring smile."I'll meet him someday again."

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The boy walked away quickly from the scene. He was definitely humiliated by the fact that a girl had actually stepped in to help his situation. After all, his teacher had taught him that pride was important to any man.

_That girl…she reminds me of her…_

His trail of thoughts whirled in his mind. The girl who had just 'embarrassed' him looked similar and had an attitude similar to a certain someone who he had met many years ago. It was uncanny, but they could still be different. It was not long before a certain someone blocked his path again.

"So…little Kuro-chan reappeared after several years of disappearing?" He looked up to see a big sized man towering over him, who had fists which seemed like they could crush anything. "And where is his dear woman?" He spoke among his group of friends, in which all of them laughed in unison.

"My name is not Kuro-chan," he answered back fiercely and giving them a hard stare, with his fiery red eyes. "Kurogane's the name," he pointed to himself with his thumb. "And if you don't get lost, I'll have to use force to drive you away." He took out his black sword sheath and began drawing out the thin double-edged sword.

**END OF CHRONICLE FIVE**

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**CHRONICLE SIX: COINCIDENCE**

**CONCLUSION: **Did Kurogane managed to defeat the group of boys who once terrorized him? And did Tomoyo managed to find the inn to complete the errand for her sister, and what is her sister's secret links with the owner of the inn? Catch this far-more-better-than-chronicle-five chapter next week!

**GLOSSARY: **_shojo-chan_ : young girl;

**EXTRA NOTE: **Notice that the name Tomoyo is actually Chise when pronouncing the kanji of her name in a Sino-Japanese manner.

Once again, many thanks for your review. This portion is a little dull because it is only the beginning anyway. Please look forward to the next story, thank you!


	6. Coincidence

**COPYRIGHT INFORMATION: **The characters here only belong to CLAMP, well probably for some of those that I created myself. Other than that, they are strictly the property of the CLAMP manga team of four women and they rock!

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Anyone may notice that the previous chronicle was a little dull…well…even I, found it a little boring too. But, don't worry! This time I'll try to write a better and more interesting chronicle. So, please review more if you want! )

**ANNOUNCEMENTS: **1. From now on, this story will have two chronicles per week released. There will be further notice if the author wishes to pause it for a while for further research; 2. This story will be designed more like a manga chapter system.

**CHRONICLE SIX: COINCIDENCE**

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* * *

**

The princess took a slight sip of the cup of tea she had just been served with. She was with her chambermaid undercover at the Takahashi inn. Her mind was full of a plan to secretly inform the owner of the inn of her sister's situation. It was not long before a commotion would happen.

"Tomoyo-_ojousama_," Hanako her chambermaid undercover as a commoner asked her mistress politely. "What do we do from here?"

"We wait," came the few words of Tomoyo's reply. "We wait for a good time. We cannot just go up to the inn owner."

BAM!

The wall came crashing down just a few metres from the princess. A man had been thrown across to the inn's wall that it had broken. Tomoyo stood up to survey the damage and how a man could be easily thrown onto the second floor as simple as that. Her chambermaid rushed forward to protect her princess.

"_Ojousama_," she questioned the princess. "Are you alright?"

"I am," she replied back and turned to see who had thrown the man across. On the street outside the inn, a man in all black was cheered on by the crowd. "That person there. How did he throw with such immense strength?"

"That person isn't human," the injured man rose up from the floor, with wooden splinters all plastered around his body. "To think he can throw a human across means he's a monster." The injured person soon got up properly and quickly ran off in an unknown direction.

"That person sure does look like a ruffian," Hanako commented on the man in black who was being cheered on. "We had better avoid him to avoid trouble."

"That boy…" Tomoyo spoke slowly and gently, looking at him. "He's no older than twenty, just only a child." Her eyes soon met the crimson pupils of the boy in black. The boy in black, Kurogane soon froze at the sight of her.

"That girl there," he whispered to himself as he slowly pushed away from the crowd and advanced towards the inn. "She looks rather familiar…" His eyes were now full of nostalgia and curiosity as his legs pushed forward towards the inn.

"Stop!" Some of the people came out from the inn and approached him. "We will not let a ruffian enter our inn and ruin our upper-class image."

"You'd better open this inn," he took out a single curved sword and pointed it at the people. "Or you'll be sorry." The people who had blocked his path were beginning to feel nervous.

"It is okay," a certain young female voice sounded again to the inns people. Tomoyo walked across to meet the young ninja who had lowered down his sword. Kurogane's heart beat faster as she approached him nearer. "I believe you're searching for me."

"Well…yes," he closed his eyes and turned his face away. "Are you from the nobility?"

"That…" she spoke slowly as he turned back to look at her with the glare of his crimson eyes. "…is a personal question I cannot answer you now."

"Fine," he began to turn and walk away from the inn. "Then your name probably isn't Tomoyo." She was slightly amazed that he could guess out her name.

"I am Tomoyo."

Kurogane froze as he heard what she had said. Resting the sword on his shoulder, he turned around to give a closer look at her. "What did you say?"

"My name is Tomoyo."

_Can two people who look alike have the same name as well…?_

He gave a closer glance at her and looked closer at her. "Are you sure about that?" He continued to rest his weapon on his shoulder. "Are you from the nobility?" There was no response to that question.

"What is your name?"

"That…" he was suddenly closed his eyes and thought for a while before reopening them. "…is a personal question I cannot answer you."

"Fine," she mimicked him back although she continued to maintain a calm and kind look on her face. "I never heard of a law that states people considering names too secretive to be told. Can you tell me the place that created that law?"

The black ninja just turned towards her with a defeated look. He knew he could not rebut her in arguments. "My name is Kurogane, get it?" He began to walk away onto the busy street.

"Tomoyo-_ojousama_!" Her chambermaid came running to her again. "What exactly happened?"

"Nothing really," she replied back. "I've just got to know a young ninja who is a little fresh with people. Have you told the inn owner?"

"Yes," she answered back. "He gave no reply though." Tomoyo was confused at the fact that the inn owner was not responding to what her sister had predicted earlier on.

"Shouldn't he have a reply?"

"I have no idea, princess," the chambermaid shrugged her shoulders. She took out a handkerchief from an opening in her dress. "By the way, someone gave me a handkerchief with a beautiful smell. Would you like to smell it?"

"If it is good to smell," Tomoyo replied back gently. "Then by all means." It was not long before her chambermaid placed the handkerchief over her nose. "It does make you dizzy though…" her voice trailed off as she lost consciousness with a smiling chambermaid suddenly calling for help from the inn.

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Kurogane the ninja walked down the street pondering over what had happened earlier. He had placed his sword back in its sheath and was walking along the busy street filled with crowds.

_Could there be a link? But she didn't seem to recognize me at all…_

He pondered over the fact as he quickly walked into a dark alley to avoid being seen by the crowds who were avoiding him because of his red eyes. Entering the dark alley, he noticed that it was awfully quiet for a rather big alley. The air was still with no sign of anyone there.

"Whoever you are," he spoke aggressively without facing anyone. "Come out from your hiding!" Kurogane drew out his sword once again for defense. He could hear footsteps approaching him. The ninja turned to see the footsteps and caught the eye of a masked ninja standing there before him.

"Excellent," the masked ninja clapped his hands with his voice muffled by the black cloth that covered his mouth. "You must have been trained in ninjutsu before by a well renowned ninja." Kurogane held his sword in front of him and stared at the ninja.

"What do you want?"

"It seems that the poor Tomoyo has been kidnapped…"

"WHAT?" Kurogane suddenly shouted out but folded his arms and closed his eyes. "But she is of no relation to me. Why should I?"

"You could get something valuable from her…"

"What valuable things?" The ninja opened one eye to look at the masked one. "Your offers sound vague."

"Something worth more than a bounty," the sinister voice of the masked ninja sounded through the corridors of the dark alley. "Perhaps you should give a try. Farewell." With his last words, the masked ninja made a quick escape too fast for Kurogane to observe. He placed his sword back in its sheath.

"Bounty, huh?" Kurogane smiled to himself with an evil aura. "Sounds interesting."

----------------------------------------------------

Tomoyo stirred to find herself tied up with a strong rope. She had remembered being knocked out by the handkerchief her chambermaid had let her smell. She try to move, but it was to no avail that the rope would break. She heard the wooden door creak open inside the dark room she was in.

"Good evening, your highness," she looked up to see a man walk into the room with her chambermaid behind. "I see you have awakened from your sleep."

"What's going on here?" Tomoyo inquired. "What's the meaning of this?"

"A princess who pretends to be wise is being inquisitive?" The man in brown clothing laughed sinisterly. "You didn't expect your own servant to betray you, did you?"

"No," Tomoyo replied back a single answer which amazed the man and her chambermaid. "I've already known that Hanako was going to betray me." She looked up at them with a calm but expressionless face.

"I see," the man answered back to the princess. "So you do have excellent observation." He was trying to behave like a hypocrite, which disgusted Tomoyo although she did not show it in her face.

"What do you want to do with me?" She demanded an answer while wriggling in the tight wrapping of the rope.

"I see you're straightforward, your highness," he commented back and looked at the chambermaid who nodded her head as soon as her eyes had met his. "We intend to make you realize your real power."

The princess was utterly bewildered by what the man was saying. Realise her real power? What did he mean by real power? She could only ponder and think over what the man had just said before the traitorous pair closed the wooden door in front of Tomoyo.

**END OF CHRONICLE SIX**

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**CHRONICLE SEVEN: ENTER KUROGANE THE NINJA!**

**CONCLUSION**: Tomoyo is kidnapped? Well, it is no surprise after all since she is always kidnapped after all. How would Kurogane come to aid the princess? Would he help her or will he be an accomplice in trying to do some strange things to her? Find out in the next installment of Princess & Ninja: A Feudal Fairytale!

**GLOSSARY: **_I didn't put any Japanese words here much, so I suppose most of the Japanese words found here can have their meanings found in the glossaries of previous chronicles. _


	7. Enter Kurogane the Ninja!

**COPYRIGHT INFORMATION: **The characters here only belong to CLAMP, well probably for some of those that I created myself. Other than that, they are strictly the property of the CLAMP manga team of four women and they rock!

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Hi again! I've been rather busy with my work so I was unable to update my story. To give you readers a treat, I shall post 4 chapters at one go while I continue my Fullmetal Alchemist story at the same time too. Anyway, please enjoy this seventh installment. And oh yes, I'd like to thank some of the people who had reviewed.

PeachPonta – Yes! I've been waiting for you to update your story and you did! Thanks again for encouraging me to continue my story while I was rather busy at work. Don't worry, the latest four chapters won't be a disappointment to you.

Dust-in – I know you hate yoai, but I have nothing to comment about. HahaZ. Anyway, please continue to support my story if you must, and I really appreciate the great support you've given me all these time too.

asga – Hi asga, once again I thank you for your reviews. You're one of the core supporters of my story too and I thank you once again. To answer the question in your review, please read the following chapters. Have a nice day reading my story!

KakashiLvr – It is quite compelling…well, it has to depend on everyone's opinion too. HahaZZ…I do hope you can continue to patronize reading my story too as well. Thanks again for yer' review!

With all to your respect, I shall continue this story after these bouts of special thanks.

**BULLETIN OF REDEMPTION: **(Yay! I named it after myself!) Anyway, I'll be standardizing my chapter release dates too. From now on, each chapter shall be released around each weekend with the exception of this time where all four chapters shall be published at one go to compensate the loss of time for you reviewers waiting for my next chapter to appear.

**CHRONICLE SEVEN: ENTER KUROGANE THE NINJA!**

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In the heat of the summer afternoon, there was barely anyone on the street except for the stall holders peddling their wares on the various avenues of the city centre. The temperature was scorching hot and no one would be in the right mind to stroll across the street without something to protect the head. 

In a nearby small inn, the young ninja Kurogane drank another cup of tea. His mind was still raging over the decision to collect a bounty if he saved the so-called princess Tomoyo, who appeared to have a nostalgic name located deep within the chasms of his mind.

"Kuro should save the princess!" His good spirit, a smaller version of Kurogane, exclaimed as it appeared beside his shoulder in a puff of smoke. Kurogane ignored his good spirit and continued to drink the tea.

"What rubbish!" Another spirit wearing a simple black cloak materialized on the other shoulder. "That is a waste of time! Kuro should do something more important!" It shrieked in his ear which the ninja was oblivious to the two voices raging in his own world known as his mind.

"Shall!" The good spirit exclaimed back.

"Shan't!"

"Shall!"

"Shan't!" The bad spirit was always rebutting back the good spirit. Instead of helping the ninja boy, they were bickering over his decision. A stress mark materialized on Kurogane's forehead as his peace was being slowly disturbed.

"Will you shut the hell up?" Kurogane banged on the table and suddenly realized that he was actually talking to himself as his imaginary two friends vanished in puffs of smoke. Everyone in the inn was staring at him, shocked by his sudden outburst. Shades of redness had appeared on both his cheeks.

"Sorry," came his only reply as he took his katana and exited the inn. And of course, into the scorching weather with no covering on his head. "This is stupid." He spoke to himself as he pondered whether to save the princess.

"But what bounty is there worth acquiring?" He stood in the hot sun with many people amazed to see how he could be oblivious to the rays of the sun especially when he was wearing an outfit almost black.

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Tomoyo sat on the floor in the middle of a circular pattern. The circular pattern was in the design of an ancient philosophy, that of Taoism. It had been drawn perfectly to resemble an _onmyou _symbol that was reported to have mystical effects when activated.

"Hanako-chan…" Tomoyo whispered softly as she looked at her handmaiden who has stood on the edge of the circle. "What is it that I had offended you for you to betray me?" Her handmaiden only remained silent, standing at the edge of the magical circle.

"You shouldn't talk too much, hime-sama," the man commented as he held a black book supported by one hand. "You'd need to conserve your energy for our tapping…"

"Tapping?" Tomoyo questioned. "What in the world are you doing?" The man flipped a few pages of the book before turning up to look at her in the eyes again.

"Don't you see the significance of this circle?"

"The _onmyou _circle?" She looked down at the uncanny pattern of the circle which she was placed in the middle of. "Isn't it only the symbol of an ancient religion? There seems to be nothing much to it."

"Very wrong, hime-sama, I'm disappointed in you," the man replied. He lowered the book and walked towards the edge of the circle as well, alongside her handmaiden. "You shall see the powers of what this circle can do, especially magically." He closed his eyes and began to chant a few words before whipping out a yellow talisman between two fingers of one hand. Rapidly as he could, the talisman was quickly thrown onto the circle which made the portion around it glow with a light blue light.

"North gate sealed," he spoke out as he looked at the first quadrant of the circle glowing. Tomoyo's eyes widened as she felt something being ripped from her body painfully. She fell to the ground, trying to suppress the pain within. "So you felt that? The circle is ripping the magical energy that was bound to your soul. The more it is strongly bound to your soul, the more it will hurt when the power is removed." Soon, a Chinese character formed on the quadrant of the circle, representing the word 'North'.

"What are you going to do with this magical energy after it's removed?" She questioned as she got up from the ground with the pain already lessened. Her eyes turned to see that her handmaiden was glowing with the light blue light. It had seemed that the circle was meant to transfer the mysterious energy within her into her own handmaiden. "You're using her?"

"She willingly wanted to be used," the man answered back to her. He turned to see her before whipping out another yellow talisman that had several characters painted over it in dark red, the colour of dried blood. "As a vessel to contain all your magical energy."

"A vessel?" Tomoyo exclaimed at the fact that her own handmaiden was using herself to acquire this strange power. It was definitely no time to be calm and silent, for there was a crazy man who had already removed a quarter of her so-called mysterious power. She looked at herself to see her entire body being surrounded by the same light blue glow as well. "She was hypnotized?" It struck her mind.

"You do live up to your reputation as a knowledgeable royal, don't you?" He smirked back at her, holding the talisman in his hand. Again as rapidly, he threw the talisman on the adjacent quadrant next to the glowing on of the circle. It began to glow a brownish colour as it engulfed Tomoyo, causing her to feel excruciating pain again. She fell to the ground, shrieking in the pain in which the power was slowly torn from her soul.

"West gate sealed," he chanted out loud as he continued to look at the book in one hand. "When I have sealed all the gates, all power would have been ripped from your soul. From the looks of it, you'll most likely die from all of these extractions." He closed his eyes and chanted a few more words in which the half of the circle now had a more intense glow of a brownish light. As Tomoyo turned her head, she noticed that the light was linked between her and her handmaiden who had started to levitate in the air, carried by the power of the glowing light.

"My father the emperor will get you if I die," Tomoyo responded back to him.

"Your father? The emperor?" He looked slightly amused at Tomoyo's response and gave a loud sinister laugh. "After you die, I'll use this magical energy to usurp the throne of your father and I'll declare myself emperor of a new dynasty like how the Chinese do!"

"You can't!" Tomoyo began to reason with him more, bearing the pain that was tormenting her body. "My father is descended from the Sun Goddess! The family lineage is divine."

"Yours are talks of rubbish," the man replied back and turned his face towards Tomoyo again. "If he was divine, he would be a compassionate ruler. Your family is to be blamed for exiling me, the head of the Oda clan into the wild east and executing my entire family!" The princess had a sudden look of surprise and shock on her face. "Talks of divinity are complete rubbish," he continued his criticism. "Only common folk would believe in such imperial crap!"

His mood was now more intense as he whipped out another talisman while chanting some strange words again. "Now is the time to seal the East gate of the circle," he gave an evil smirk back at her with his dirty brown eyes. "By the time it is sealed, you'd have been half-dead and it would be fulfilling some of my ultimate revenge against the emperor!" Tomoyo could only do nothing but look at the madman's ploy. After all, a certain spell had now bound her by the arms and legs, rendering her unable to even move let alone escape.

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Kurogane ran across the dirt path. It was extremely hot but he did not mind it. There was an attractive bounty to take after all, since it was an imperial princess he was saving and not some noble's daughter. His mind filled with the prospects of saving an imperial princess which would award him several desires he could never ever ask for in a lifetime.

"There is a strong imbalance in the atmosphere," he thought to himself as he followed the leads of a strong imbalance in mystical energy. There was some magical spell occurring which was hopefully where the princess was captive there. "Someone is trying to do something nasty about this…"

The young ninja could also sense it by the presence of _jaki _too. The negative aura was formed whenever there was a magical imbalance which would cause its formation. If nothing was done to curb the growing _jaki_, it could form a powerful miasma that would be harmful to any living thing, be it animal or plants. The spell being cast was already generating too much of _jaki _which made Kurogane rush towards the site where the _jaki _was at its strongest.

"Not so fast, my dearie ninja," he heard a feminine voice as he made his way towards the centre of evil aura. He turned his head to see a woman approaching, with similar gear as him. It was another ninja but he had a strong sense that she employed a different technique from him. "It seems that you're eager to take that princess…before the spell is finished casting."

"Pah! I'm only here for the bounty," Kurogane tried to act cool as he closed his eyes. "Anything other than that does not concern me at all." He reopened his crimson eyes to stare at the female ninja who had a smaller katana in one hand.

"You're quite courageous, aren't you darling?" She walked closer to him, holding the katana still in its sheath. "A ninja should be able to detect others, yet you can't detect my grand entrance." She drew the katana rapidly and encircled her arms around his neck with her weapon ready to slice the young ninja's throat open.

Kurogane had an expression of surprise for a while before regaining his calm posture again. "A simplistic approach by a ninja," he replied back to her. The female ninja sliced his neck only to find him vanishing in a puff of smoke. What was left was a small humanoid-like shape of a paper.

"How smart," she looked down at the paper before being suddenly caught by Kurogane with his own katana ready to slice her neck this time. "I see that you know how to use _shikigami_. I don't see much ninjas like you practicing such an art." She shrank her eyes as she held Kurogane's body by her two arms, emitting blue-lightning style that made him fold. He clutched his stomach and fell on the ground.

"You shouldn't underestimate me either," the female ninja replied back to him. "I, too, have an art not seen by many ninjas as well." Kurogane only looked at her in anger as she walked towards him in small but rapid steps.

**END OF CHRONICLE SEVEN**

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**CHRONICLE EIGHT: THE MYSTERY OF PRINCESS TOMOYO'S POWER**

**CONCLUSION: **As everyone has seen, Kurogane has failed to even reach Tomoyo bad. How bad. Can he save Tomoyo in turn, while at the same time attempt to defeat the mysterious female ninja who intercepted him on his way? Can he come to her aid before the exiled noble seal the last gate of the _onmyou _circle? Find out in the next chapter The Mystery of Princess Tomoyo's Power!

**GLOSSARY:**

_Onmyou – _something like the Taoism's 'ying-yang', check an encyclopedia

_Jaki _– as mentioned earlier, it is negative energy that can turn into miasma (well, for this story…)

**THANKS FOR READING THIS CHAPTER! PLEASE AWAIT THE NEXT CHAPTER SOON! REVIEW IF YOU WISH TO SAY ANYTHING, THANK YOU! **


	8. The Mystery of Princess Tomoyo's Power

**COPYRIGHT INFORMATION: **The characters here only belong to CLAMP, well probably for some of those that I created myself. Other than that, they are strictly the property of the CLAMP manga team of four women and they rock!

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Hey guys, I'm real sorry if the chapters didn't come in. I was involved in some seriously matter and couldn't really update anything. Anyway, I'll try my best to update as soon as possible because this story is really slowing way too much! HahahaZZ…anyway, thanks for your faithful commitment to this story and please enjoy the next installment of this story. And of course, I'm here to thank those who reviewed again:

Dust-in: Haha…you're so funny…always discrediting yaoi…anyway, thanks for your review

Tenshi Moonlit Inu: Well…I have no say in the use of Kuro/Fai fanfics. I suppose it's kinda cute to those who like Kuro/Fai fanfics. Anyway, thanks for your review!

KakashiLvr: Oh…as for that…haha, it just came to mind on the part of Kurogane's funny part. Anyway, I thank you once again for yer' review!

PeachPonta: I've been waiting for your next chapter. Update soon? HahaZ, I'm just utterly impressed with the way you use your language. Read further in this chapter to see.

Larania: Hmmm…yep, it does sound strange. But to be strange is to be unique too, isn't it? HeheZZ…perhaps someday I may go find a beta and get some help, but not at the current moment coz' I want to complete this fanfic first.

asga: hmmm…well…if Kurogane dies, then won't the story end? Hehehe…nono, I'm not implying anything. chuckles

Nanie-san: Don't worryshinpai suru na! There will be definitely be action in here but I just do hope you can interpret the way I describe it. Thanks for yer' review too!

**CHRONICLE EIGHT: THE MYSTERY OF PRINCESS TOMOYO'S POWER**

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Kurogane rose from the ground, his body slightly injured from the lightning attack. He wiped off the stream of blood dripping from his mouth. Giving a smirk, he once drew out his katana and brandished it before his ninja opponent.

"You're quite strong, aren't you darling?" She gave a small sinister chuckle, covering her mouth with the small katana. "But you'll never defeat me, the all beautiful and great Reishi of the Lightning!" She raised her arms, emanating the strong electrical energy and directed them at the black ninja. Knowing that he was not a fool to let himself be hit by the lightning attack, Kurogane dodged spontaneously to the side avoiding the attack as it hit the hard ground. "Mine mine, aren't you quite speedy too?" She commented, staring at Kurogane who was panting heavily from his injuries.

"I…I…" He panted heavily and used his katana to raise himself from the ground. "I won't lose to the likes of you!" He grabbed his katana again and pointed it at her. She started laughing, clutching her stomach bending down. "W-what's so funny?" He demanded to know.

"A mere child like you," she stood up and looked at him seriously for a moment. "Is just too pitiful to die from this." Before he knew it, Reishi had rapidly teleported next to him and looked at his crimson eyes which were bent on killing the formidable lightning ninja. She slowly moved her fingers up from the skin of his arm to his face, giving a small evil chuckle at the shocked expression in his eyes. "What a waste," she spoke in a pitiful tone. "A young one already preparing to see his death."

"I won't lose to the likes of you!" He reiterated again, slicing her into half with his katana. It slid through her as though she was a ghost. The illusion vanished and revealed to him that she had been standing at the same position as before. "You bitch! You used another underhand method?"

"All ninjas used underhand methods," she replied back to him with a sinister look in her eyes. "There is no honour involved in doing the work of a ninja." She raised her arms and began to emit the same lightning attack on Kurogane again, which hit him on the spot this time. His arms made impact with the ground as he crawled on the ground, weak from the powerful attacks by this so called Reishi of the Lightning.

"Oh gosh," she lamented sarcastically, giving a slight yawn. "You're so boring. There's no thrill in fighting you, except to subject you to a world of illusions." Drawing out the katana again, she walked slowly towards her injured opponent dragging the tip of her own weapon across the hard ground, which left the metallic sound in its wake. "Now it's time for you to disappear from this world." She gave a smile and raised her katana before him.

Kurogane only lied subconsciously on the ground with his body almost immobile from the paralysis caused by the electrical attacks of his opponent. Only fleeting thoughts filled his mind as he heard the katana beginning to slam down on him.

Tomoyo reopened her eyes from the magic spell cast on her. She had once again bore the pain of the power being sucked from her. She fell on the ground, looking at the exiled noble. She knew she would not last long from the spell being cast on her, for the life force was also being slowly removed from her, attached too firmly with the magical energy stored within her.

"I see you're enjoying it, princess," he walked to the princess who was utterly weak from the spell. "You won't have to worry," he sniggered back at her and grabbed her head up by the hair. "I will send your body back as a present for your imperial highness of a father." Her eyes had dilated to the point where the pupil was almost nowhere to be seen. She has been completely weakened from the spell which she had identified, which was a sealing spell to remove the power of powerful priestesses of the past.

"And now," he continued as he returned to the edge of the _onmyou _circle. "We shall see how this vessel can manipulate the magic within her." Casting another spell with another hand formation, her handmaiden Hanako rose from the ground with the light blue glow surrounding her body. Her eyes opened to reveal brown, dilated eyes which made her looked as though she had no mind of her own.

"W-what did you do with Hanako-chan?" Tomoyo questioned as she looked at what was going on. "She looks like her soul has been stolen?"

"You're a clever one, princess," he looked back at her with another sinister look. "After all, your handmaiden here has a soul too ordinary that she cannot hold all of your magical power at one goal."

"So you removed her soul to store the energy within?"

"How clever of you, your highness!" He praised her with sarcasm. "And also thanks to her stupidity in acquiring magic powers. It was so easy to manipulate the darkness growing in her heart through this demon magic." He gave a large laugh enough to echo the entire large room. Tomoyo's expression was still calm although she had been weakened both physically and spiritually.

"I see that we had a great conversation for the last time before you're sent to hell," he replied back and raised the book in one hand again. "Let's get over with this and seal the last gate, shall we, your highness?" He gave a fake and hypocritical smile. The exiled noble began to chant a few more words, causing a bright glow around the princess once again. She closed her eyes preparing to feel the final pain once more.

He stopped chanting and lowered the book again. She opened her eyes, peculiar at what he was doing. Doing another formation of the demon magic, Hanako or what was left of her body as a vessel glowed pinkly and vanished instantly. Tomoyo was surprised at the way what the magical power could do.

"It seems that there has been a minor interference," he replied to her casting a spell that created a vision. Through the vision was the image of someone black on the ground unconscious glowing with a crimson blood-red aura as one ninja was about to strike her sword down on the figure in black. "I have dispatched my vessel to give a quick end to your dear saviour."

"That guy…" Tomoyo looked at the vision in which she remembered the person. He was probably the black ninja whom she had approached earlier but had a cold attitude towards anyone. "He has nothing to do with it! You shouldn't drag him into this."

"I'm afraid not, highness," he responded to hers sharply. "He chose to interfere and this is what he gets by my loyal Reishi who is famous for killing people through the use of lightning." He raised the book again, not noticing that the magic binds on her limbs had been nearly dispelled from the effect of her magical power. Tomoyo got up, limping towards the antagonist to stop the chanting of the spell.

"W-what?" His eyes widened as he saw the princess approaching him near. "That wasn't supposed to happen! My spell is not working?" He quickly chanted another spell, in which the magical binds rose from the ground again and once dragging Tomoyo to the ground again. This time she was near unconsciousness and simply lied motionless on the ground.

"Your highness, it is unwise of you to move around in such a state," he sniggered again. "I can't let you die before I take away the last bits of your magical power." She gave a weakened look at him. "I'm sure you'd want to know the secret of your power," he gave another hypocritical smile. "Before you leave this world."

Reishi of the Lightning had a tinge of shock in her indigo eyes. A strong hand had suddenly deflected her blade, pushing it back without even being cut by the sharpness. A red glow had surrounded Kurogane as he rose up from the ground. His eyes had dilated to reveal a very large crimson iris. His body had suddenly become more muscular and stronger, as seen by the taut and developed muscle on his arm which pushed back the blade.

"H-how can this be?" The female ninja exclaimed as she took several large steps back away from the person who had been unconscious minutes ago. She had been shocked by the sudden unexpected reaction of a young, inexperienced ninja. "What kind of jutsu is this? I've never experienced once before."

Kurogane looked at both his suddenly fitter and more muscular arms. He was glowing in a crimson glow and raised his head to reveal his visage to his opponent who placed a hand over her mouth in shock. "What is this feeling?" His voice had become raspier as he looked at her with his largely crimson eyes. As he opened his mouth, teeth canines had suddenly transformed suddenly into large fangs. "I feel just an urge to kill, to kill anyone now."

"Y-you…" Reishi exclaimed in shock at the sudden transformation of his face. He had turned fiercer especially through the sharp fangs that had suddenly appeared in his mouth. "A monster? You're the demon incarnate!" She dropped her sword and slapped her palms together.

Kurogane grew angrier at the mention of demon incarnate. He gave a louder growl as his aggression took over his mind. His blood boiled at the though of being called a monster from the bad childhood memories he once had.

"Die now, monster!" She cast a giant lightning ball in the gap created between her two palms and pushed it across to the black ninja. Kurogane took both palms and tried to deflect the powerful attack back as the entire lightning ball engulfed him with its bright bluish-white glow. Reishi of the Lightning gave a slight smile as she took her katana and raised it in her opponent's direction. "You shall not survive this last part."

The lightning ball had dispersed, revealing a Kurogane in tattered clothing. He was panting but there was no sign of exhaustion from his physique. At instant, his opponent gathered the lightning created into the katana and prepared to charge at him. The black ninja or the ninja in tattered clothing prepared to face her, with his arms strong enough to destroy her weapon.

She tried to electrocute him but it was to avail. Kurogane, with his enhanced hands, squeezed the katana and caused the blade to break into many pieces just like shattered glass. Her eyes were shocked from the sudden outburst of power by a ninja so young only. She fell back on the ground with a Kurogane clenching his fist and staring at her. His mind had become bent on killing her as his thirst to kill became stronger within his mind.

He was about to strike her when suddenly a pinkish ground surrounded the female ninja. It formed a barrier which pushed back Kurogane from her. He looked up to see someone familiar hovering in the air with a pink glow around her. But he was in a mood too aggressive and engrossed to try recognizing her.

"T-this was sent by him?" Reishi questioned but there was no reply from the hovering girl. She gave another smile back at the ninja, but with a sinister look. "So it does seem that this barrier can serve to be quite useful." She began walking towards him, with a plan already formulated within her mind in mere seconds.

Kurogane crawled on all fours, still baring his fangs at his opponent and giving a slight growl. His clothing had been torn and tattered, with the torn parts dangling from his body. His face expression changed when his eyes met the sight of someone familiar before him.

"Kuro-chan, don't be angry anymore!" The cherubic voice of a familiar girl with big eyes and long hair walked towards him. His aggression had lessened down although he had not reverted back to normal yet. The young Tomoyo walked slowly towards him as he got down on the ground.

"And you can enjoy how Reishi's tactic and your power can combine to form such a clever strategy," the exiled noble replied back to Tomoyo who was still observing the vision. She was worried at the battle scene as someone who looked almost like her was approaching the black ninja. "This is one of the secrets of your power, your dear highness."

She could only watch as the black ninja's began to lower in aggression as his face calmed down to see the young Tomoyo walking towards him with the cherubic expression on her visage. On the other side, she could notice a grinning Reishi who was manipulating the entire situation.

"How stupid of you, young boy," Reishi chuckled as she watched the young transformed ninja in a state of illusion.

**END OF CHRONICLE EIGHT**

* * *

**CHRONICLE NINE: TIME IS RUNNING OUT**

**CONCLUSION: **Now we know Kurogane can be quite powerful when in times of crisis, but can he actually avoid the illusion and come in time to save Tomoyo? And how can he try to defeat Reishi of the Lightning if she is continually protected by the strong barrier created? Find in out in the next chapter Time Is Running Out!

**GLOSSARY:**

_Jutsu – _something like of a ninja's skill; there are different forms (if you're a naruto fan, you should know much about this)

**THANKS FOR READING! PLEASE AWAIT THE NEXT CHRONICLE SOON! MATA NE!**


	9. Time is Running Out!

**COPYRIGHT INFORMATION: **The characters here only belong to CLAMP, well probably for some of those that I created myself. Other than that, they are strictly the property of the CLAMP manga team of four women and they rock! (Actually, I'm quite sick of using the same words each timesob sob TT)

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **And so we reach Chronicle Nine. Thanks again guys for the reviews you have posted for Chronicle Eight. I'm really grateful for what all of you have reviewed for me because they really serve to encourage me into writing more. Anyway, please enjoy this new installment again! XD

_Once again, here're the replies to your reviews…_

Peach Ponta: Yay! Thanks for yer' review! You're real fast this time…haha, only reviewing instantly the nite I posted the previous chapter. Anyway, please update your story soon coz' I'm waiting for it, and many others too! XD

KakashiLvr: sweatdrop Actually, I was expecting the twist to be non-existent. HeheheZ. Anyway, thanks for yer' quick review!

Laranai Drake: Hmmm…at this moment, I guess I'll try to improve my wording a little if I can. When I'm at my wits' end, I'll try to get a beta reader. But actually, due to sarcastic beta readers, I'm kinda' wary of them too…anyway, thanks for yer' review too!

asga: Well…the answer is below, isn't it? HeheheheZZZthx for yer' review!

_And well yes, let's begin our next installment, my dear readers. _XP

**CHAPTER NINE: TIME IS RUNNING OUT**

* * *

Reishi of the Lightning took slow steps towards the dazzled ninja. His irises had contracted a little, indicating he was indeed in an illusion. The same deadly thin-bladed katana dangled from the grip of her hand. The professional ninja approached her young opponent, preparing to annihilate him.

_Defend my cause and I'll give you what you want…_

The trail of words sounded in her mind as she made slow steps towards her prey. All she had wanted was to achieve her goals, even if they were through sinister means. Images of the one who hired her appeared in her mind. Reishi was only interested in attaining what she wanted.

_I won't lose to the likes of you!_

Her opponent had earlier shouted at her, creating the words that now sounded through her mind again. Such determination. Such courage. She had never seen an opponent who as strong-headed as she was. Ignoring the thoughts in her mind, Reishi of the Lightning prepared for a katana formation which would guarantee Kurogane's instant death.

The black ninja, on the other hand, was still entrapped within his own illusion. The figure of the young Tomoyo was just next to him, preparing to touch his face. His eyes were only bent on the person, surprised to see that his childhood buddy had not aged one bit. But he did not care about that.

"Calm down, Kuro-chan," she spoke softly at him. As her fingers touch his tanned cheeks, the black ninja experienced a red flush only a little lighter than his own eyes. "It hurts me to see you like this." She gave a small smile which made him soften inside. He could feel it. His body was already unable to maintain the morphed demonic form.

"It hurts me to see you like this," the fake Tomoyo suddenly gave Kurogane a hug which made him even more surprised at her sudden spontaneous action. He was after all not used to any affections of any kind, judging from the ninja training. "It would be best if you would calm down and…"

Kurogane returned her the hug as he also wrapped his arms around her. He knew he felt weird but it was the only way to return affection by someone close.

"Die." Came the sudden change in voice, making Kurogane return to his senses. A pain seared through him as a katana impaled through his side. The weapon was withdrawn, leaving a wound enough for blood to spill out within moments. The drops of blood dripped onto the hard ground, leaving small various crimson patches.

"Tomoyo-sama…" His voice was weak. The black ninja clutches his side to look at Tomoyo who had already disappeared. In its place was his female opponent. "_Nande…?_" He got up again to face his enemy, this time clutching his bleeding side.

_Why…I…I can't move my body…?_

Reishi of the Lightning was surprised to find her mind unable to control the body she was in. Only voices clouded her mind that seem to have a demonic tone. It seemed that the boost in power she had just received was somehow overpowering her will.

"Do not worry, mortal ninja," one of the demonic voices sounded her mind, speaking directly to her spirit. "We'll help you to kill this pesky abomination, if you submit your will to ours." The woman ninja felt a feeling of creepiness crawl over her heart.

_That boy ninja…he is seeing me as another person…?_

She raised an arm with a sharp dagger, knowing that it was not controlled by her. The strange power that had empowered her earlier was the master now. Kurogane looked back at her with eyes of strong determination and will. She felt too guilty to kill someone so young although she was known to have a will to kill people without feelings.

Rapidly, the arm came swinging down preparing to stab her opponent and give him the final blow. The boy ninja closed his eyes, knowing his moment of death was at hand. The tip of dagger's blade quickly came crashing down, closing on Kurogane's chest.

The young ninja reopened his eyes, seeing his opponent closing her eyes tightly. The dagger was just barely a few centimeters from him, with its sharp tip emitting a shine. He rose up to look at the person who had just spared him.

"Just go," Reishi of the Lightning ordered. "Go save your princess. Go before I lose control of my will again." Kurogane stared at her with surprise at her sudden change of attitude. "I was manipulated by a curse," she opened her eyes. "Destroy the mastermind and save the princess." The boy ninja nodded and ran off in the distance to save Tomoyo.

"You have disappointed me, woman," the voice spoke in her head. "Now you shall see how you shall be punished." Her hands began to move again as Reishi lost control of her will, plunging the dagger into herself, releasing a fresh spurt of blood.

Tomoyo lied unconsciously in the centre of the _onmyou _circle. Her eyes had turned grey with no pupil present. It seems as there was not a sign of life in her. Footsteps came close to her. The exiled noble stood before her, looking at his success.

"Kukukuku," he gave an evil gesture. "It seems like your beloved ninja has been slain and I have taken out all of your magical energy." There was no response. The princess lied on the hard floor, her body devoid of life. Her long hair was spread over the floor, in which the villain had picked up and smelled it.

"What a pity," he lamented hypocritically. "To think a princess like you would just come to an end. It's okay for your spirit to hate. Hate your father for giving you life away." Lord Oda began to walk away from the circle, when he felt a strange aura approaching.

"So he's not dead yet, huh?" The noble gave a smile.

The transformed black ninja ran across rapidly without stopping. There was no time left. He had to save the princess from a major disaster from opening as told by his conscience strangely. A large wooden and ruined building was in sight as he rushed across the top of another hill across the vast plains.

"Tomoyo…" he spoke to himself as he ran across tirelessly. "So it's really you?" He was about to approach the building when a blue light materialized in front of him, causing the black ninja to halt abruptly.

"What a pity," the voice came out from within the bluish light. "It seems that you did not wish to leave this world as yet."

"Whoever you are," Kurogane clenched his bare fists which revealed his larger transformed arm muscles. "Appear now in front of me!" His wish was revealed in which the appearance of Lord Oda was materialized.

"So you're the one behind all this, you bastard?"

"My my," he held up his book of magic. "I see that you've reached your transformation stage. It is rather impressive too."

"Y-your aura," Kurogane detected with a expression of shock. "It doesn't feel like a human at all."

"Of course I'm not a human," he spoke back to him sinisterly. "Don't compare me with those of the low-lives." He waved a hand across in which his glow turned crimson. "Can you notice the familiarity now?"

"What do you mean?"

"It seems that you're disrespecting your elder, my little brother."

"Who's your little brother?" Kurogane replied back in disgust. "Where is the princess?"

"Oh? That magical vessel?" Lord Oda's eyes turned red. "It seems that you're rather concerned for her too."

"Just who are you?"

"You shall see," the exiled lord chanted a few words in which the entire crimson glow began to engulf him. Kurogane took a step back, confused from the happenings. As the crimson glow began to reveal a new figure, the black ninja began to take a defensive stance against the new form. "It's been a while, little brother."

Kurogane took a step back at the new form. It was a woman with red eyes with black flowing hair. Her nails were long and sharp, enough to pierce the skin of any humans and kill them. "W-who're you?" He demanded an answer. "I'm not your little brother."

"How disrespectful," she gave a slight chuckle. "It seems that your soul has already blended in too much with your human form." She gave a slight number of footsteps towards him which he bared the sharp claws on his hands, pointing towards the demoness. "How disrespectful of you," she gave another answer and quickly vanished. Finding her just behind him, Kurogane turned behind to aim his fist at her.

"It seems that you forgot your roots," the demoness commented as she backed away again from Kurogane's attempted offensive. "Perhaps the essence of the human form corrupted the purity of your soul."

"I don't care what my soul is or whatever crap you're talking about!" Kurogane was preparing to attack the demoness again. "Where's the princess, and her servant?"

"Oh? You mean this?" She smiled and waved her hand across, causing her form to transform into that of Tomoyo's handmaiden. "Surprised at my magic?"

"Where is the princess?" Kurogane demanded a third time.

"How stubborn of you, little brother," came the next comment again. The demoness walked closer to him, altering her aura to immobilize him. "I'll have to teach you a lesson then."

_Her aura…it's paralyzing my entire body…_

The demoness, or his alleged sister, traced her sharp claws across Kurogane's torso up to his neck. Her lips came closer to the black ninja's ears and began to move.

"I'm going to remove your soul from this worthless body," she whispered seductively in his ear, making his eyes widen. "I'll revert you back to your original form." Her claws began to scratch across his back which the clothing had been torn initially. He could feel a sharp sensation but was immobilized to say anything.

"You can do anything with my body," Kurogane tried to speak with much effort. "But you won't remove my soul." Her aura was still too strong for him to move. The demoness wore another grin on her face. Without any warning, she plunged her claws deep into his back, impaling him through. He gave a loud scream as the pain engulfed him.

"Painful isn't it?" She questioned the ninja. "That is what you deserve for being human. However, it looks like you don't wish for any salvation."

_Save me…_

Kurogane's mind opened up to hear Tomoyo's voice calling out for him. He could feel the blood dripping from his body, which had left a large wound. He was quickly losing consciousness.

"I'll send you to the afterlife as a gift then," the demoness replied back, standing before Kurogane who had collapsed on the ground. She proceeded to approach him, preparing her claws to slash his mortal neck.

The black ninja, however, was unconscious with his eyes in a delirious state and look.

**END OF CHRONICLE NINE**

* * *

**CHRONICLE TEN: COMBINE! PRINCESS TOMOYO & NINJA KUROGANE**

**CONCLUSION: **In the aftermath of Chronicle Nine, Kurogane has been left unconscious. Can he save himself by being in time to block the demoness' attack on his life? Or will he die just from her attack? Meanwhile, how is it that Tomoyo can reach him although she has already died? Check out in the next chapter Combine! Princess Tomoyo & Ninja Kurogane!

**GLOSSARY:**

_No new words found!_

**THANKS FOR READING. I DO HOPE YOU CAN REVIEW IF YOU ARE FREE. ANYWAY, I DO HOPE THIS CHRONICLE CAN RECEIVE MORE REVIEWS THAN THE PREVIOUS. BYE FOR NOW!**


	10. Combine! Tomoyo & Kurogane

**COPYRIGHT INFORMATION: **The characters here only belong to CLAMP, well probably for some of those that I created myself. Other than that, they are strictly the property of the CLAMP manga team of four women and they suck rock!

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Whooothis is the tenth chapter already? Quite fast, isn't it? Anyway, since I didn't write any chapter last week, I'll produce two weeks' worth of chapters then. And yes, this is the final chapter for this arc. Please don't be disappointed if you find this chapter rather boring. -smirks-

_And yes, time for the mandatory reviews replying:_

PeachPonta: Thanks for yer' 50th review! I didn't expect this story to actually exceed that many chapters after all. Anyway, I wish ya' all the best in going to Japan. Haha…I've been there already so I suppose I kinda' know the place a little. Try to visit all the places if you can!

Katari: Thanks for yer' review again! It's not really written well actually…I've just want to produce a nice story with much fluff actually…heheheheZZ

asga: Thanks for yer' long support and review! Don't worrythe update's here already, heheheZZ!

KakashiLvr: Hmmm…I'm not sure if this ending to this arc can be appealing to you all, but I hope you all can enjoy for it and prepare for the next arc happening.

japanfan: Well…Kurogane will probably come up with something…let's just do hope

Tamashii Kirisa: Heyyy…your pen-name is so nice…so JapaneesyheheheZZyah…it's a cliff-hanger…so it shows the manga nature of my story

3musketteers: Er…yesI'll update now

Dust-in: YES OF COURSE I'm a fan of fluff fanficssmiles

SasukeBlade: Yah…Tomoyo is never seen much in the TRC manga…just one of the minor characters who simply sent Kuro-chan on his journey…and about the arc matter…I have some rough idea of the arc after the next...and yes, I may have something like that

_Omgso many reviews? Hehehe…thanks for all your reviews!_

**CHAPTER TEN: COMBINE! PRINCESS TOMOYO & NINJA KUROGANE**

* * *

The black ninja reopened his eyes to find himself lying on the hard soil. He got up to find himself in a giant field surrounded by emerald hills. Surely, he had been in battle with the demonness. Was he in a dream? 

_I…I…am normal?_

He looked at his hands. They had certainly transformed back into human form. The sharp claws had appeared to have withdrew back into his fingers and his muscle transformation had seemed to reversed itself, reverting back to his human-like form. His eyes caught something to the left.

"Y-You are…" Kurogane turned to the princess facing him from the left. "…that noble…"

She gave a slight nod and took one small step towards him. The ninja stood firmly on the ground, awaiting her arrival. "Yes I am," she replied to him. "Kuro-chan."

_Kuro-chan?_

That name was nostalgic. The black ninja's eyes softened at that name. The first person to ever befriend him, Tomoyo was in his sight. All in her grown-up form.

"It's been years," he gave a seemingly evil smirk with a similar look in his crimson eyes. "So what brings you here?"

She shook her head only as a response. Kurogane had a startled look in his eyes at her muteness. The sunlight grew more intense, causing the area to become more shimmering. Pointing to her throat, Tomoyo indicated her muteness.

"So you're mute, eh?"

"I need your help," her voice suddenly echoed in his mind. The princess gave a slight jump and began to float upwards towards him like a small feather being carried by the wind. Kurogane was surprised at her sudden action, and for the first time his eyes caught the state of her body – translucent like what a ghost would be. "Help me…"

His arms slowly caught her floating body as she drifted towards the surprised ninja. Her face was directly in front of his, although he could see through her, which was the background of the emerald hills.

"How can I help you?" Kurogane asked solemnly, directing his gaze at the princess's big black orbs. "Why are you only a spirit?"

"I'll lend you my power," she echoed in his mind once again. "Your life is being jeopardized by an evil demonic force. You're not fated to die yet." The princess closed her eyes and pressed her lips on the ninja's. His eyes widened at her reaction. Slowly, her body began to dissolve into his, forming a merger between both. He suddenly felt his power increasing by several folds, feeling something strange.

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Kurogane reopened his eyes, showing the transformed red orbs. He stood up in front of the demoness, grabbing her hand and pushing her away. He could feel a surge of power traveling throughout his body. The black ninja gave a loud growl at his attacker.

"What?" The demoness took a step back with a startled look on her own face. "H-how can this be?" She raised her arm into the sky, materializing a silver sword in her hand. "It seems that you refuse to be annihilated, my dear brother?"

"Y-you took her power away," Kurogane demanded, his voice sounding demonic. "Give her soul back."

"Oh?" The demoness gave a smirk. She snapped her fingers, summoning the vessel for the magic power. "You mean this?"

"That handmaiden?" He turned back to the demonness. "You manipulated her?"

"A naïve girl, I must say," she chuckled. "But if you want to get back what you want, why don't you defeat me first?" She raised her silver sword, pointing at the transformed Kurogane. "I'm sure this _ginryuu _is thirsting for another valuable life like yours."

"I don't care whatever rubbish you're blabbering about," Kurogane drew out his katana again and pointed it towards his opponent. "I'll kill you and end this nonsense!" As quickly as he could, the black ninja began charging at the female demon, who had just only stood there with her silver sword.

"Foolish," she grinned at his charge. Muttering out some words of strange origin, she drove the entire sword into the ground causing it to generate tremors in the ground. With the other hand pushing the sword into the ground, she raised her hand to create a powerful fireball that aimed at the charging ninja.

Kurogane stood back at his charging as he noticed the giant fireball his opponent was conjuring up already. He would die if he was to be engulfed in such a big fireball thrown at him. Correction, he would be completely eradicated.

_You can do it._

The words of Tomoyo echoed in his mind. Determined as he could, the black ninja raised his sword and continued his charge against the powerful demonness who had also tried to thwart his movement by the tremors she created.

_Break the youki the fireball is developing from…_

His eyes closed to sense the traveling _youki _that was fueling the summoning of the fireball. Through his mind, he could see the vast streams of yellow and red _youki _enveloping the demonness, circling around the fireball that was already beginning to enlarge, ready for release. (A/N: HeheheZ…I copied from somewhere)

Kurogane reopened his eyes, observing his opponent who had pointed her silver sword at him. He was startled to see as the fireball began traveling down to her sword through her body, causing the blade of the sword to turn from silver to crimson.

"Kukukuku," she lowered her crimson sword and looked at him. "To think you have stooped so low to just observe my _youki_." The demonness raised her sword once more and began to walk towards the transformed Kurogane. "Now you shall die under the _Kazan no Yaiba_ from my treasured _Ginryuu_."

"Pah! Who cares about your worthless sword?" He raised his katana again and charged towards her, trying his chance at wounding his opponent. His attack was suddenly blocked by her crimson sword in which she made another grin.

"So this is it?" She made a disappointed tone. The demonness snapped her fingers again, forming a bluish barrier around herself, which threw Kurogane out of it. "Plain brute force won't bring you anywhere."

The black ninja turned to his right to see the handmaiden who was hovering in the air. Similarly, she was engulfed with a blue aura that glowed all around her floating body. He turned his eyes back to the demoness who raised her sword in front of her face.

"My turn now, isn't it?" She commented as she swung the crimson blade, causing a rain of fireballs to rain down on the ninja. Kurogane could only use the thin blade of his katana to block his own face. "Is this all you've got?" She swung another wave of the fireballs on the ninja.

Kurogane fell on the ground with his arms, panting at the double waves of fireballs that had rained down on him. His upper clothing had been completely burnt off, only revealing his naked torso. Even the black ninja helmet he had worn had been completely eradicated by the two waves of attack. He looked up to see her standing before him, with the blade still glowing.

"My, my," she shook her head as she looked at the almost fallen ninja. "You were really reborn into a perfect human body. It's too bad I have to waste it." She began to swing the blade down on him to give the final blow.

"Not so fast," Kurogane looked up at her again, his hand gripping the blade which was burning his skin already. His eyes had appeared to glow more, with his claws growing more prominent. "I was born to be as hard as steel. Your blade can never cut through me." He replied her with an evil-looking smirk on his face.

"H-how can this be?" She had a shocked look in her eyes. "It means you're not exactly human." She withdrew the blade, whose grip from Kurogane had loosened. Giving a great jump backwards, she lowered the sword and threw it aside on the ground. "Fine, you win this time, my brother." The demonness chanted a few words, engulfing herself in a green glow. From the green glow emerged a giant silver dragon that flew into the sky impressively.

"Wait you bitch!" Kurogane ran after the dragon flying.

"Kukukukuku," the silver dragon spoke psychically as it flew away into the sky. "I'll be back, Ninja Kurogane. And remember, you're not exactly human. Kukukukuku!"

"Huh?"

Kurogane fell back onto the ground, his entire body already exhausted from the battle he had with the strange demon. His crimson eyes stared blankly at the sky while his body began to transform back into his human shape. It was surprising for him, with no idea how his body could suddenly transform into such a demonic shape. Perhaps he was already a demon actually, the black ninja thought to himself.

-----------------------------------------------------

The princess' body still remained motionless in the middle of the _onmyou _circle. A dark figure appeared on the edge of the circle and began to move in. The body of the handmaiden was dropped to the ground, with her bluish glow began to leave in the form of tiny orbs back into the princess' body.

"So…the princess' soul depends on this magic power?" Came the curious voice of the black ninja as he bended down to look at the princess' revived body. "So…this girl after all…is _ojousama_?"

The princess regained consciousness, opening her eyes. She sat up from the floor, looking at the ninja who had just saved her. Kurogane turned his face away, pulling a long face.

"Thanks for saving me," she spoke gently, slowly warming his cold heart. "What's your name?"

"Don't you know, little girl."

"You're quite straightforward, aren't you?" She gave a slight cheerful laugh at his reaction. He had a shock expression but hid it away quickly. "My name is Tomoyo, what's yours?"

"Kurogane," he replied back, his back facing her. "Ninja class." Little did she know that his face was quite red.

_This girl is cute…_

"Your name is nice, Kuro-pon…"

"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?" He suddenly turned his face around, showing an angry look with sharp teeth and much sweatdrops coming down the back of his head. "I'M NOT A…" He stopped when he saw that Tomoyo's face had lowered.

"S-sorry!" He suddenly changed his attitude and tone towards her. "I didn't mean to offend you, Tomoyo-_ojousama_!" She suddenly looked up at Kurogane who was a little confused over the princess' strange behavior.

"Ojousama?" She spoke in a curious tone. Putting a finger to her mouth, she was suddenly in deep thought. "That sounds familiar. Did you ever call me that before?"

"N-no…" He lied through his own teeth. "What's the matter?" He demanded when he saw the princess lowering her head once again.

"Y-you are…" She pointed a finger at him, with her head still lowered. "…topless." All of a sudden, the black ninja's face went red, turning himself not to face her.

"Sorry," he was sarcastic in his own reply. "I didn't mean to offend you."

"No it's not," Tomoyo replied softly again. "It's just that…you look strong. We're in need of strong guards like you…" Kurogane's expression changed suddenly as soon as Tomoyo had mentioned palace jobs. Perhaps he could try to use her in taking a stable job.

"Really?" Kurogane suddenly went out of character as he responded with a hypocritical tone. "What kind of guards?"

"Guards…to protect us…"

"Us?"

"My family household," Tomoyo replied back and looked back directly at his crimson eyes. He was surprised that she was not afraid of his eyes which had always cursed him to make people have a bad impression on him. "We use them to protect our family."

"I shouldn't be looking at you," Kurogane averted his gaze again. "I'll curse you if I do."

"You may have an evil look in your eyes, Kuro-chan," she began to speak the few words that made him irritated again. He turned back towards her, wanting to remind her not to repeat those tender words.

"But you are a nice person actually." He was startled by what the princess had said. He had only heard this type of sentence once, with the young Tomoyo once telling him like this. The sitting princess smiled at him.

"Alright enough!" He folded his arms and closed his eyes, trying to look cool in front of her. "So where's my reward?"

"Hmmm…" Tomoyo pondered over as she tried to think over one.

"Do you even need to think?" Kurogane had a giant sweatdrop over his head, expecting some fortune from saving a princess.

"You'll come work for me then?" She smiled back at the black, frequently grouchy, ninja. "Why don't you be my guard as a reward?" Kurogane suddenly pulled a long face at his 'reward', his mouth wide open.

"So that's my reward?"

"Yes it is, ninja-chan," she answered back quickly and enthusiastically. Kurogane suddenly had blue lines written over one of his eyes, rather 'surprised' at his own reward.

"Pah! As if it's some reward," he began walking off, not caring about the princess. "I would be a guard on my own, not by some underhand means!" He began walking into the distance impressively, which was actually out of the building.

"Stop!" Tomoyo stood up abruptly, making the ninja halt with his shocked eyes at her suddenly commanding him.

"Now what again?" Kurogane groaned as he turned back towards her. His face now had a bored look with droopy eyes.

"You listened to my command," the princess spoke and walked towards him. "Well…aren't you my guard now?"

"AM NOT!"

"You are."

"I'm not some crazy childish weak princess' guard!" Kurogane gave a repulsive reaction. "The law of the ninja says so!"

"Really?" Tomoyo argued back but in a calm mood. "I never heard of it before." Kurogane pulled another long face, knowing his trick had fallen through.

"Of course you didn't!" He exclaimed back at her, knowing what to do. "You're not a ninja after all!"

"My family uses ninja to guard us," she spoke back. "How can I not know the way of the ninja if I have to use them as my guards?"

"Wait…" the black ninja was startled at what she had just mentioned. "…if your family uses ninja, aren't you part of the imperial family?"

"Well…my _otousama _is called the emperor or something…"

"What's a princess like you doing here?" He questioned her again, leaning his tall frame against the wooden wall. "Shouldn't you be kept up in the palace or something?"

"That is stereoptyping, my dear Kuro-chan," she replied back nicely again.

"NEVER…EVER…CALL…ME…" he was getting irritated at her again. "…my dear kuro-chan." He lowered his head upon saying those words.

"Would you like to be my guard?" She questioned again, giving a slight chuckle at his reaction. "Kuro-pii?"

"Yes…" he answered back softly, knowing that the princess would keep tormenting him with these effeminate words if he continued to refuse. "Just stop saying those disgusting words." (A/N: And now you know why Kuro hates Fye saying these…hehehe…this is purely fiction)

Tomoyo only gave a slight laugh.

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The image of the two was embedded in a magical mirror. A dark figure came out to observe the mirror which was displaying them. Apparently, the mysterious person was a woman as she raised a hand full of ladylike fingernails towards the mirror.

"So the princess and ninja has come together," she spoke to herself as she revealed her shape, a woman with long, flowing black hair and with a bun on top of her head. "The time has started."

**END OF CHRONICLE TEN**

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**CHRONICLE ELEVEN: THE MYSTERY OF THE HAUNTED CHAMBER**

**SYNOPSIS: **Tomoyo and Kurogane come across one side of the palace that is believed to be haunted. Can they solve this mystery or get themselves in danger instead? Check out in the next chapter The Mystery of the Haunted Chamber!

**GLOSSARY:**

**_Ginryuu: _**Kurogane's famed sword…read the manga if you don't know

_**Youki **: _Demonic energy/aura

**THANKS FOR READING! HOPE YOU ENJOYED THIS CHAPTER! PLEASE REVIEW IF YOU PLEASE! AND SORRY IF THIS CHAPTER HAS NOT BEEN A GOOD ONE…WELL, I'M KINDA' QUITE BUSY AT THE CURRENT MOMENT. SEE YOU SOON!**


	11. The Mystery of the Haunted Chamber

**COPYRIGHT INFORMATION: **(Read previous chapters for it. I'm sick of writing it anyway! HeheheheZZZ!)

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Well…I'm back! I do hope all of you can enjoy this new chapter again. And yes, this would be something like an arc composed of various short stories since this is actually a Feudal Fairytale! And yes, I promise you; there will be much of Tomoyo & Kurogane fluff, so sit back and enjoy!

_The important replies to the reviews: (Thanks guys!)_

PeachPonta: Thanks for your review once again! I hope you won't be disappointed by the sudden change in arc and the structure of this new arc. Hope your trip to Japan was fun! Please continue to write your story too! I really want to finish mine too!

Neko-Yuff16: Haha…this new chapter is of a new arc, so be prepared. I just do hope you can enjoy this new portion, and thank you for your review once again!

asga: Thanks for pointing out the fluff-ness again! I'm gonna' make more of these fluff-ness prominent so sit back and enjoy!

KakashiLvr: Thanks again for your review! Well…his demon form won't be really appearing for now…I believe so…heheheheZZ

_Only 4 reviews, but never mind; my fingers will get tired from all of these review replying stuffy. Thanks again!_

**CHRONICLE ELEVEN: THE MYSTERY OF THE HAUNTED CHAMBER**

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Another beautiful sun set over the Kyoto Imperial Palace as birds continued to chirp and sing a song of the early autumn. The peace was almost absolute, except for a blood-curdling scream that sounded through the commons chamber of the palace baths.

"_Hentai! Hentai!_" The woman screamed at the sight of a certain black ninja cleaning the wooden floors of the bathhouse with a small cotton flannel. Whipping a large wooden broom from out of nowhere, she raised at the ninja who had apparently intruded the privacy of women. "How dare you barge into the women's quarters, you _hentai_!"

Kurogane could not be bothered with the cleaner woman. He had no interest in seeing nude women, for whatever reason there could be. He shifted his focus back to the wooden floor and continued his job.

"Did you hear what I say, black _hentai_?" She continued her screaming. "Out! Out! Out!" The cleaner pointed to the exit.

Kurogane gave a sigh as he reopened his eyes at the cleaner, glaring at her with his crimson pupils. She was frozen for awhile, with the large broom still in her hand. "The princess…" He spoke abruptly. "She sent me here as a punishment."

"That doesn't mean anything, you black pervert!" The cleaner sprang back to life suddenly. "Just get out! She raised her broom at him and charged at him, expecting that the Princess Tomoyo's guardsman would be scared into leaving.

"…"

Kurogane closed his eyes and quickly dodged the cleaner who slipped and fell on her back from the slippery portion the ninja had created while wiping with the flannel. He got up, looking down at the cleaner woman who was groaning in pain.

"_Jaa ne_," he muttered out and made his way out of the baths chambers. The black ninja closed his eyes and pretended to walk in a dignified way before bumping into something the height of 3 quarters of his.

"Kuro-pon…" He heard the familiar voice of royalty. Without opening his eyes, a large sweat drop appeared on his head, with one eyebrow twitching violently. "You're quite fast, aren't you?"

"Y-yes," he adjusted himself to a calmer posture and cleared his face of any weird expressions. "I am the fastest warrior in here, of course, Tomoyo!" He boasted, while trying to open his eyes.

"Oh, is it, my dear ninja?" The princess was smiling at her bodyguard. Somehow, Kurogane's eyes managed to pick up a powerful fiery aura covering the princess, along with her calm looking smile. "Why did I hear someone scream _hentai_ then?" The princess continued her ill-intentioned laugh.

"I will improve on it," Kurogane replied and turned around, pulling a long face and returned to the bathhouse where a cleaner with giant bruises on her faces from the mishap stood with her arms on her hips. "Time to return back to work."

It was not long before he entered the bath area again. He blinked for a second. There were women suddenly in the baths, with all of them staring back at him too. In the distance, the princess stood there with a chambermaid, giving a small chuckle at the commotion.

"If I only I had something to record Kuro-chan," she continued her chuckle.

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The black ninja fell back on the soft flooring of his own quarters. There were loads of cross-bandages on his entire body. It was apparent that he had been completely overwhelmed and assaulted by the women in the baths.

"_Kusou_," he hissed at his own mishap. "Now everyone here thinks that I am a great _hentai_!"

His face was twisted into an irritating shape. Crimson eyes staring at the ceiling, the black ninja rolled to his right. "If only that wench of a princess didn't make me do that thing," he closed his eyes. "I would have…"

"I heard you clearly, Kuro-puu," the door slid suddenly to reveal a rather calm-looking princess who had came without the ninja realizing. "So who is a wench again, may I know?"

Kurogane gave a big gulp as Tomoyo who had involuntary summoned the terrorizing fiery aura to engulf her once again. Several drops of sweat appeared on his face with shrank red pupils that revealed his nervous state of mind.

"W-well…" He swallowed again. "_O-himesama _is the greatest princess I've ever seen in my life!"

"Really?" Tomoyo rubbed a hand against her cheek, pretending to be shy. "That was a good compliment, Kuro-pii."

"Like as though someone as bossy of you would be!" He muttered softly to himself.

"Did I hear something from you?"

"Er…Nonono!" He backed away from the princess who was indeed scary although she was always maintaining a relaxed manner. More drops of sweat appeared on his face, coupled with even more nervous and enormous tiny-pupil eyes. "It's nothing, Tomoyo-hime!"

"That's a relief, Kuro-chan," she responded to his nervousness. She held her hand on the sliding door. "Don't worry, I shall be back soon." The princess gave a chuckle and shut the door, leaving an extremely nervous Kurogane inside the room. Even if she was away, he could still sense the ominous aura emanated from the palace terror.

_Of all things, why am I here with her? Even if she behaves bossy too?_

The black ninja continued his staring at the ceiling. He pondered over his actions. It was rather true for him to be foolish in being her guard, especially when her entire section of the palace had only women working there.

_Should I just leave…?_

His trail of thought was interrupted by a sudden knock on the entrance to his quarters. He turned his head to face the silhouette of a girl. Narrowing his eyes, he continued to observe the patient figure outside his own room.

"Who's that?"

"Kaori, _ninja-sama_," the door slided open once again to reveal a young teenage girl in a kimono of sakura patterns.

"What do you want?"

"S-sorry to barge in," she trembled as she spoke, lowering her head. In the view of normal men, she was definitely cute especially with her large brown eyes. "W-would y-y-you like to have some _onigiri_…?"

"I couldn't be bothered with such stuff," Kurogane folded his arms and looked away. "Unless that tyrannical princess makes me some _onigiri _herself." The black ninja did not notice his tactlessness.

"Someone called me tyrannical, I heard?"

Kurogane's eyes widened, and turned to see the princess' face in front of him. She was giving a grin as though she had heard a compliment. Opening her kind-looking eyes, Tomoyo stared closer at Kurogane's crimson eyes.

Even if Tomoyo was not afraid of the menacing impression of her loyal ninja's red eyes, Kurogane himself was afraid of the princess looking deeply in his eyes. She was so closed to him until he could see his own reflection in her large eyes.

"Kuro-pon," she drew back suddenly and stood before him together with Kaori, the servant girl earlier. "If you wish your beloved princess to make a snack for you, you should contribute to making it too."

"Bah! Who wants to eat your snack?" Kurogane grumbled. "I don't believe a princess like you can even cook porridge either."

"Oh…Kuro-pii…" She began in a melodious tone that led the black ninja to face her, forcing him to notice the same fiery aura around her once more. "Could you then go to the grain house to find me some rice?"

"Ninja laws mentions no ninja is supposed to do such puny jobs," he huffed proudly and turned away again.

"Really?" Tomoyo was beginning her legendary argument with him again. "I never heard of such laws before. Do you have any proof?"

All Kurogane did was pull a long face again and walk out of his own quarters.

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"Ah, there you go, young man!" The old caretaker of the grain house patted Kurogane on the shoulder. The ninja had a shameful look on his face. Of all things, he had to behave like some servant for the princess. "We didn't expect her royal highness to send her guardsman to take grain for her."

"…"

"_Taihen da! Taihen da!_" One of the women came running over to where Kurogane and the old man were, overwhelming the soft tone of the ninja's grumblings.

"What's wrong?" Kurogane continued his grumbling, taking small steps.

"N-nami…" the woman was stammering in her unstable state of mind. "…something's gone wrong with that girl again!"

"Possessed by the ghost of Lady Hirasaki?" The old man pondered over. "It cannot be. That legend was never true in the first place, and nobody disturbed her tomb."

"I can't be bothered with all of this crap!" The woman shrieked back. "If Nami does not recover, she could die at this rate!" The word 'die' caught Kurogane's mind as he suddenly stood there.

_That's right…everyone has to die someday…_

The black ninja reassured himself again. After all, he had been through various near-death ordeals, especially as a child too. Ignoring the commonfolk gossip shared by the two, he continued on his way back to Tomoyo's palace.

"Tachibana-chan," an elder woman of royal descent strolled through the palace gardens as her handmaid accompanied her walk. "I heard that Tomoyo-hime has a new guard."

"_Hai, o-hime-sama_," she replied instantly to the elder princess' question. "Tachibana knows nothing else other than that he is a ninja almost clothed in black garb."

"Oh?" Tomoko-_hime _covered her mouth with her folding fan of peony designs. "Is that the person?" Her hazel eyes shifted to that of a laboring ninja carrying a heavy sack of rice. "This is weird. Isn't he a ninja?"

"Tachibana-chan agrees with _o-hime-sama_," her handmaid responded back with spontaneity. "He may not be Tomoyo's new knight either."

"Very well," she placed her folding fan into the hands of her loyal maid. "I shall approach him if he really is the famous Kurogane-_kun_."

Meanwhile, Kurogane was trying to carry the sack of rice. Strange enough, it was becoming heavier by the minute and it was already straining his back. Droplets of sweat formed on his face already, his mind was full of cursing the princess for her indirect punishment on him.

"What is a good-looking man like you being a laborer for?" He heard a voice that made him turn to the right. It was Princess Tomoko, the elder sister of his own princess and who commanded much more respect than the young sister herself. She stood there for a moment, noticing his eccentric behavior in struggling with the sack of rice.

"_Ishi no jumon, kiete!_" She chanted out as she waved a finger. In a sudden flash of a moment, the sack of rice had gone from weighing heavier than two rocks to a little more than a feather. Kurogane raised up the sack, now that the burden had being suddenly lifted. "Feeling better?"

"How did you do that?" The black ninja asked.

"My, my," she spoke back with an aura of calmness. "It seems that my dear sister wanted to give you another punishment through a magical charm. I'm quite surprised a boy ninja like you is still willing to work under her."

"What do you mean?" Tomoko was confirmed that he was a ninja after all.

"Tomoyo-_sama _never takes in any males in her own household," the princess produced a small smile on her face. "If she does, they suffer at her hands."

"I see," the black ninja brought down the sack of rice to the ground, and shook the dust off his broad shoulders. "But it doesn't concern me anyway."

"It does," the princess replied back in a cunning tone this time. "I'm rather surprised that you still managed to stay with her after quite a long time."

A large sweatdrop appeared behind Kurogane's head. He had only been in the palace for a few months only.

"But I believe," she came closer to him. "A ninja is supposed to protect his princess, am I right?"

"…"

"I'm sure Tomoyo won't mind," she continued her talk. "But would you help me eradicate a peculiar threat in my household?"

"Explain," was Kurogane's single-word answer.

"I'm sure you must have heard about the famous ghost tale of Lady Hirasaki," she took back the folding fan from her servant who had been slowly walking up to her own mistress. "As of recent, when the rumors started, there has been a strong sense of _jaki _in the air recently, especially around my household where the tomb is nearby."

"Bah! I don't believe in ghosts!"

"But I'm sure you do believe in _youkai _that plague this country," she unfolded her fan and began ventilating herself. "I'm sure there is a strange _youkai _who has been tormenting the palace."

"I only work for Tomoyo-hime," he retorted back and took up the sack of rice. "I have no time to waste, farewell." He began walking away again, ignoring Princess Tomoko.

"So you don't wish for a challenge," she replied in a sudden, mysterious tone. "Being the best warrior in the country. That was what a certain ninja said." The princess hid her face behind her fan.

"_Omae…_" Kurogane turned behind to reveal a surprised look on his face. "How did you know about this? Out with it!" He demanded an instant answer.

"What is my purpose in this place," Tomoko answered, her handmaid Tachibana moving to her side. "If I'm not involved in covert operation?"

"Tachibana-chan agrees with _o-hime-sama_," the handmaid only responded in respect of her mistress.

"So why are you hiding it, Ninja-san?"

He folded his arms for awhile before turning back to look at the respected princess. "What do you want?"

"Remove the threat in the palace," there was a piercing stare from the princess, who was unlike the calm and gentle look of the younger Tomoyo. "And I shall reward you handsomely."

The next moment, the princess Tomoko was already on her way returning to her quarters, followed closely by her handmaiden. Only Kurogane stood there, observing the departing princess.

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It was the dead of night. A dark figure slid open his paper door as he attempted to sneak out of the watchful quarters of the princess Tomoyo.

"Kuro-pii," he heard a voice from behind that made him shudder.

"Tomoyo-_himesama_," he turned back as obediently as possible. In front of him was the princess with a paper lantern, which revealed his clothing. "What is such a person doing so late at night?"

"I came to check up on you," she smiled back at her ninja. "And I don't recall sending you on late night missions too…"

Several sweats of drops appeared over Kurogane's face. He was getting nervous at her sudden appearance. "Well…_hime-sama_," he reopened his eyes. "Ninja custom states that a ninja must go out late at night."

"Really?" She rebutted. "I never heard of such a custom before too."

"That's because you are not a ninja."

"Should I go ask my _onee-sama_ about that custom?" Tomoyo began walking away from him, which alarmed him within. "And ask why my ninja is so polite to me today too."

"You win, Tomoyo," he pulled a long face and tried to pull her back. "The truth is…"

_Power…Power of the Onmyou…I need it…_

Kurogane was about to behave like a big-shot in telling the truth when his sharp ears picked up the tone of a creepy voice coming from a dark corner.

"Did you hear that, Tomoyo-_hime_?"

"Someone's still up?" She was behaving too calm for the ninja to handle. "I wonder who it is?" The enthusiastic princess began strolling to the source of the voice, which made Kurogane irritated at her calmness.

"You're not coming along, Kuro-chan?"

"Bah! Go and play with that ghost yourself!" He folded his arms, trying to behave in a cool manner.

"That's sad, my ninja," she lamented with opposite intentions. "Maybe I should visit my sister in the afterdark…"

"You win again, Tomoyo," he grumbled to himself as he adjusted his katana before following after the princess who approached the eerie voice.

**END OF CHRONICLE ELEVEN**

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**CHRONICLE TWELVE: GRIEVANCES OF A CENTURY**

**SYPNOSIS: **Tomoyo & Kurogane comes to terms with a ghost that cannot depart from the living world. However, the ghost seems rather peculiar and does not seem to be much of a…ghost…? Can they really solve the mystery of the palace hauntings?

**GLOSSARY: **

**_Hentai: _**Pervert for Japanese. (Not that kind of connotations!)

**_Jaa ne: _**Bye for Japanese.

**_Kusou: _**'Damn' in Japanese.

**_Onigiri: _**A Japanese riceball

**_Taihen da: _**An expression to express distress or trouble.

**_O-hime-sama: _**A honourific for a princess. (Yes, I created it myself…hehehe…)

**_Omae: _**Rather rude form of saying 'you'

**PHEW! AFTER ALL OF THESE TIMES, I HAVE COMPLETED CHRONICLE ELEVEN. WELL…I DO HOPE YOU ALL WON'T BE REALLY DISAPPOINTED BY THIS COZ' IT'S A NEW ARC. ANYWAY, THANKS FOR YER' REVIEWS ONCE AGAIN! AND YES, I DIDN'T MEAN TO MAKE KUROGANE SO WIMPY AND OOC, AND MADE TOMOYO INTO SUCH A BITCHY CHARACTER…**


	12. Grievances of A Century Part I

**COPYRIGHT INFORMATION: **The characters of Tsubasa Chronicles are part of CLAMP and I acknowledged their right to own them. Other than my own original characters, they are part of CLAMP productions.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Well, I'm back from my holidays, namely in Taiwan. And yes, I'd like to thank all those readers who had waited patiently for my next chapter. Well, it's here now so enjoy it!

_I'm skipping the review-reply section this time since I really don't have much time._

**CHRONICLE TWELVE: GRIEVANCES OF A CENTURY (PART I)**

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"Kuro-pon," Tomoyo started as she paced down the silent dark corridor. "Would you mind traveling down before me?"

"Absolutely not, hime."

"So Kuro-chan is being a little disobedient and naughty here?"

The ninja replied back with silence. He was not going to waste his energy on arguing with a princess who would only talk of corny stuff. The corridor was so dark that only Kurogane's crimson look was one of the shimmering things.

Somehow he wondered how Tomoyo could make her way in the dark. She was right in front and only pitch-black greeted her as she continued down the corridor.

"This is strange," she spoke. "The corridor is silent now."

"That ghost was probably scared away by you."

"Did you say something again, Kuro-chan?" The ninja detected a creepy aura circling around the princess, probably generated by herself. She turned to reveal a complete visage of sinister-looking starry eyes.

"No, I didn't say anything," he turned away from Tomoyo. A sudden howl sounded throughout the corridor again. It was creepy enough for the ninja to be chilled at heart.

"Perhaps we should go back before…" He looked back at the empty spot where the princess had stood earlier. Kurogane had the most shocking expression in the aftermath.

Tomoyo walked through the dark corridor. Even the moonlight could not even penetrate these areas and cobwebs seemed to increase in numbers as she traveled deeper into the building.

"Aren't these areas a little uncared for?" She spoke to herself as she strolled down the dusty floor. Little did the princess know that she was being slowly watched by a dark figure hiding from a wooden beam near the roof.

"This is stupid," the ninja cursed as he looked over the entire area for a girl with royal robes. "I'm gonna kill you the moment I see you, Tomoyo-hime!" His face was just a display of irritancy.

As Kurogane searched the corridor using his senses, there was a slight stir in the stillness of the air. He crept closer to the source of the disturbance, with only pitch-black darkness surrounding. There was only suspense in his heart, similar to the time when Tomoyo had told a bad horror story to her chambermaids.

"Don't give me the creeps," the ninja whispered to himself, quietly reaching the point. His mind was now full of Tomoyo's images of laughing at his internal fear. "A ninja knows no fear!" He ordered himself in his own mind.

The ninja could only just imagine Tomoyo laughing at him again. Kurogane crept closer to the third party in the dark room which he had just entered.

Preparing to face a sinister force, Kurogane drew out his katana from his sheath, together with the metallic sound of it sliding out. He approached the target with suspense, only able to sense it through his hearing.

"Ninja-sama?" He heard a sudden demure voice that sounded familiar to him. "What're you doing in such a place!" Kurogane stopped his katana midway just as he was about to hit the target.

"You're…?" He replaced the katana into the sheath. The ninja only heard a slight giggle from a pair of green eyes looking back at him as soon as the target struck a match to reveal the familiarity.

"That chambermaid?"

"It's Kaori, ninja-sama," she giggled. "It seems you have forgotten my name."

What was left of the ninja was plainly a boy with a blushing face.

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Tomoyo walked through the dusty ground, noticing that the clutter of dust had reached up to her ankles. It was far too peculiar to have this part of the residence to have such an enormous layer of dust.

"This place must have been unkept for a thousand years to reach such a state," she concluded while feeling the dust. Sensing that it was already too dark for the moonlight to reach these quarters, she closed her eyes and began chanting a spell.

_Kin…Sui…Do…Hi…Ki!_

An instant green flame appeared on her palm, making the surroundings light up with an eerie-looking emerald glow. The _on _energy was much enough to create an instant dark flame, as the princess had deduced.

The surroundings had lit up to reveal thick looking crimson-coloured pillars with architecture of the same colour. There was no change in Tomoyo's expression with only a look of determination to walk further into the area. In the distance, a ghostly figure floated aimlessly with its blank visage staring at the wandering royal with intrigue.

"What is a person like you doing here?" Kurogane questioned the chambermaid as he noticed Kaori carrying a bowl of purple mesh of unknown material. "Didn't you know this place was rumoured to be haunted?"

"Precisely, ninja-sama," she answered enthusiastically. "This place is haunted, and this is my reason for coming here."

"Reason…?"

"There is a god who resides here in actual fact," Kaori continued fluently. "And I have come to bring his monthly offerings."

"In that case, how did…?"

"Sneaked out?" She giggled again, aware that Kurogane knew only guards were allowed to roam the palace at night for any threat of insurgency. "I can't tell you that."

"Are you in some plot with that pampered wench?" He stared coldly at the chambermaid, intending to intimidate her.

"The pampered wench?" She looked perplexed for a moment before her face turned into an irate expression. "That is rude, ninja-sama. How could you call Hime-sama such a name?"

"She deserves it anyway," Kurogane folded his arms while turning one eye to see Kaori changing the matches. "My life was better without her."

"Tomoyo-himesama isn't always that bad," Kaori struck a second match, re-lighting the corridor again. "She is a very nice princess and treats us chambermaids better than any other princess."

"Tomoko-hime seems like a more reliable person," the ninja retorted. There was sudden queer silence from Kaori.

"Tomoko-hime?" He noticed a sudden outburst from the usually calm chambermaid. "She's one of the most cruel mistress I ever heard of."

"She seems to make full use of her underlings…" His voice trailed off, unable to compare with the larger decibels of Kaori's voice.

"Tomoko-hime is a very cruel princess who ill-treats her own chambermaids!" She halted in her walking, looking at the young ninja.

"Wait," Kurogane responded back quickly. "You don't have to be that agitated!" Kaori stopped for a moment before repeating her giggling again.

"What is your problem?"

"Your face looked rather frightened earlier, ninja-sama," the chambermaid looked back happily at Kurogane. "I didn't expect such a sudden response from a ninja rumoured to be the best in the palace."

Kurogane folded his arms and looked away from Kaori in a sulking mood.

"You're really funny, ninja-sama," she commented. "So why are you in a strange place like here?"

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The princess observed the patterns on one of the red pillars. She could not read the inscriptions engraved on the structure. The words were written in an archaic Chinese writing system that was now even lost in records in Japan. Tomoyo took a step back and thought for a while.

"I have figured everything out," she replied to herself continuing to look at the inscriptions that were illuminated by her magical green flame. A strange presence materialized behind her, giving her chills down her spine.

Tomoyo turned back to only see sheer nothingness. The only thing that had confused her was there was indeed a presence behind her moments ago. She could only turn back now.

"Now, which way was it?" She looked at the dark corridor that was surrounded by endless walls. The only lit area was from the magical flame powered by the _on _energy, abundant in the room.

"What?" Kaori was startled at Kurogane's answer. "Tomoyo-hime disappeared suddenly when both of you were finding something?"

"I have nothing to be blamed," he grunted and grumbled. "That wench caused herself to be lost."

"Please don't be rude to Tomoyo-hime," Kaori admonished. "Ninja-sama is lucky to have her as a master."

"That is still purely nonsensical," Kurogane interjected at the chambermaid. "In any way, she is just a crazy person who tortures her ninja." Resting the katana on his shoulder, he turned back to Kaori.

"I'm going to search for Tomoyo," the ninja began to fade into the darkness. "You can come along if you wish to."

_Hiss…the princessss thatsss arriveddd…_

Tomoyo turned around instantly to look at the source of the sound. Only sheer darkness greeted her face. Clearly, she had figured out the entire puzzle of the entire place but her mind could not register a certain mystery lurking in the darkness.

There was something out there in the abandoned building. And it was trying to connect to her mind by psychic means. It was rather obvious to the princess that the presence was certainly not human.

_We will be freed by the princesss…_

The voice continued to hiss in her head. Trying to ignore the sounding message, Tomoyo continued using the magical flame of hers to exit the dark area.

_Sei'kekkai!_

A cyanic spherical barrier enveloped the chambermaid, causing Kurogane to stare with a shocked reaction. She reopened her green eyes to affix onto the ninja's crimson pupils.

"You didn't expect a simple maid to know such magic, ninja-sama?" She giggled a little.

"What's so funny?"

"Kaori-chan finds ninja-sama rather funny," she replied back happily. "I didn't expect such a surprised reaction from you."

"That is not funny," Kurogane responded with a solemn look on his face.

"Your eyes still give you away, ninja-sama," she answered back before skipping off into the darkness.

"Wait there, you wench," an angry ninja raced after a playful chambermaid, who seemed more mysterious than she looked to him.

_The time has come…princesss_

A calm Tomoyo walked down the dusty corridor. The voices had been sounding continuously with only her ignorance. The dark presence seemed to draw closer and closer as the princess made her way out with her guiding emerald flame.

"I expect no resistance from you, Tomoyo-hime," she heard a clear voice in front of her suddenly. The princess looked up to see a figure standing before her, the face hidden behind a grey hood. It was rather strange for someone to wear such strange grey robes.

_We're going to need your help…_

The same sound began sounding from behind the dark figure's back. In the darkness, there were several pairs of eyes now staring at Tomoyo. Flashbacks of several strange scenes began to fill the princess' mind.

Tomoyo felt her forehead, reopening her eyes once again to notice the dark figure had reached up-close to her. A noticeable purple gas began emanating from the mysterious figure that turned the princess' pupil into a dilated shape.

A bluish glow shone throughout the area, seeping from Tomoyo's unconscious body.

Kurogane turned to his left abruptly, his expression as if he had sensed something was wrong in the area. The ninja was startled at something, as seen by Kaori.

"Something's wrong, ninja-sama?" A small rat wriggled its way out of the dust, quickly vanishing in sight. The ninja gave another sigh. The princess was nowhere to be seen, even with two pairs of eyes finding the lost royal.

"This place is like an utter maze!" The ninja was frustrated with the labyrinth where corridors intersected at several points. The only significant part of it was its crimson walls that gave a rather eerie aura to it. "How can we find her in this place? Stupid princess!" The ninja found a nearby red pillar, leaning against it.

"Kurogane-san," the chambermaid paced up slowly to the ninja, startling him for calling his own personal name. Clasping both her hands together, she looked up at the rather tall ninja. Her face drew closer to the ninja, tiptoeing towards his head.

"W-what the hell are you doing!" Kurogane's tone was becoming nervous, his cheeks turning red slowly. Kaori closed her eyes, nearing the ninja's face. His eyes remained wide open, preparing to accept her.

The ninja's crimson eyes softened, his eyelids beginning to shut. Stretching out his arms to wrap around Kaori's body, Kurogane prepared to accept the sudden kiss.

"Kuro-chan is always cute when he's all red," he reopened his eyes to see a familiar person pulling his cheeks. Her face was all smiles and laughing at her own ninja's naive ness.

"Tomoyo-hime!"

**END OF CHRONICLE TWELVE**

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**NEXT CHRONICLE: GRIEVANCES OF A CENTURY (PART II)**

**SYPNOSIS: **Well, this is a two-parter series so I suppose the next chronicle is easy to guess. I bet most of you readers must be confused about what happens to the other Tomoyo. And yes, the hauntings still go on! It's not like I have diverted the storyline.

**GLOSSARY:**

_I suppose most of the terminology were used before._

_**Sei'kekkai: **Techically means 'clear barrier'_

**THANKS FOR ALL THE SUPPORT GIVEN! I'M REALLY APPRECIATIVE OF IT! NOT TO WORRY; I'LL BE REPLYING TO REVIEWS IN THE NEXT CHRONICLE SO BE SURE TO LOOK FORWARD TO IT TOO.**

**Here's a poll for you readers out there:**

**((reply me in your reviews))**

**What exactly originated from these strange hauntings?**

**Plainly ghosts, simple ones**

**Someone is manipulating the thing, aka a mastermind**

**Be sure to look forward. Bye for now!**


	13. Grievances of A Century Part II

**COPYRIGHT INFORMATION: **The characters of the original Tsubasa Chronicles anime/manga hereby belongs to CLAMP group and I respect their rights over them. However, the original characters involved belong to me.

**AUTHOR'S NOTE: **Seems like I need to speed up this entire story; looks like this is slated to exceed 20 chapters as planned by me currently. I apologize for the rather dry content of recent but I still have much stories to tell so not to worry!

Warning: This chapter is longer than usual!

_The reviews (revived):_

Asga: Thanks for reviewing again. And yes, I had a wonderful trip circulating the entire island of Taiwan.

Dust-in: Thanks for the review once again. I won't let down any of my reviewers.

japanfan: Go ahead; there's plenty for you to read.

PeachPonta: Many thanks for your review again! Be sure to update your fanfic soon!

**CHRONICLE THIRTEEN: GRIEVANCES OF A CENTURY (PART II)**

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"What the heck…?" Kurogane stared back angrily at the shape-shifting princess, who was laughing away at her trick. "How did you…?"

"It's rather surprising for a maid to able to create a barrier, Kuro-chan," she answered sarcastically while giggling away at the ninja's naiveness. "I'm surprised you didn't fall through the trick yet."

"Shut up," he turned his back around, with the aura of embarrassment surrounding him.

"You need more practice, _ninja-sama_," she emphasized the last few words, on purpose of annoying her ninja in black. Truly, Kurogane had not realized that Tomoyo could perform shape-shifting and mimic anyone too. "An enemy like that would have killed you by now."

"I'll have sliced you for that," he mumbled to himself.

"Did I hear something, Kuro-pii?" the princess questioned, moving closer to the ninja. An aura of nervousness splashed over his entire face.

"None of your business," came the sharp reply, along with a giant sweatdrop on his head. "Of all people, why her?"

"Her?" Tomoyo was confused for a little while before realizing. "You meant Kaori?" The princess chuckled for a while, irritating her ninja further.

"Why of course," she responded enthusiastically. "Kaori's probably the only one who's the closest to you."

"Shut up," Kurogane snapped back, turning around to face the princess. "Which princess will go around playing with her servants?"

"Servant?" Tomoyo looked back at her ninja surprised. "Did you just say 'servant', Kuro-pon?"

"I didn't say anything," he looked away from her hanging his head low. "You didn't tell me you could shape-shift."

"Now you know," Tomoyo answered quickly. "Now let's move along."

"To where?"

"Find the disturbing force here," a solemn look covered the expression on the princess' face. "I have solved the entire puzzle here."

Kurogane did not understand what his princess was saying. To him the only thing was to exit the place with the princess to safety. The ninja shook his head as he followed behind the active princess.

"Someday I'm going to die from Tomoyo-hime's games…" He spoke quietly behind the strolling princess.

"Kuro-pon, did you say something again?"

At the other side of the haunted section the dark figure laid down the other Tomoyo on a mural of a red dragon. She was still unconscious as her body lay limp on the floor.

"So you have brought the princess?" A feminine voice sounded behind the white translucent silk curtains. A silhouette produced itself, revealing a woman dressed in rather rich clothing.

"Yes, madam," the dark figure answered back, kneeling on the floor before the authoritative person. "The person before you is none other than Tomoyo-hime."

"My dear servant," her voice sounded sweet and gentle as she spread the curtains open, her face still covered by the shadows. "Haven't I been kind in teaching you the _on _energy spells?"

"Yes, madam."

"And haven't I been good in taking you in as a prized disciple?"

"Yes madam…"

"THEN WHY HAVE YOU TRICKED ME IN BRINGING THIS ILLUSION?" She suddenly burst out, startling the disciple. He quickly lowered his head in response.

"I-I don't understand, madam…"

The woman shook her head and raised two fingers to produce a purplish light. As the glow flew to the unconscious princess, it quickly disintegrated the body into sheer nothingness. In its place was just a small white paper crane that shook slightly with a passing gentle breeze.

"Shikigami?" The figure was surprised at the trick. He took his hood by his hand and lowered it, revealing his head. In the hood's place was a young boy with black hair and a pair of large green eyes.

"A person like you can't even get over with the trick of shikigami," the mistress turned back to walk into the dim light. "Never mind, I'll get someone else to handle this."

"But madam…"

"No buts," she snapped back at him. "You have failed me again and you'd better rest. That Tomoyo-hime is not someone easy to subdue, whether physically or magically."

A dark figure began appearing behind the curtains, approaching the boy. In one hand was a long katana that hung carelessly. The figure shape seemed that of a woman, as the boy thought.

"All men are useless, even boys," she revealed herself as she came out from the curtains. The katana shone brightly no matter how dark it was. "Madam wants me to subdue that menace known as Kurogane."

"Wait…but the princess…"

"Obviously she wants you to handle Tomoyo," the samurai girl looked irritated at her co-fighter. "You know madam doesn't always mean what she says. And your magic is enough to subdue that wretched princess."

The girl walked by the boy, crossing him before stopping. "Don't disappoint madam," her tone became more serious. "She really wants you to prove yourself."

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"Stupid wench," Kurogane grumbled to himself, sulking away while following his princess. "Where the hell is she going to go?" The magical green flame had appeared on Tomoyo's palm again, guiding the duo towards the source of the disturbance.

"Stop grumbling, Kuro-pon," she answered back at her disgruntled ninja. "I'm not a wench, and I don't go around reading people's minds." The second part of her last sentence was rather ironic, as what Kurogane had thought.

"Why are we going in this stupid merry-go-round thingy?" He burst out, unaffecting the princess however. "There's nothing here except dust…and stupid red columns around!" He looked at the various red columns that lined the corridor like lamp-posts lining a pavement.

"Patience is a virtue," his ears picked up a most annoying statement. To Kurogane, Tomoyo was always full of rubbish statements and any motivating sentence she made was always a load of crap to him.

"Argh, shut up," Kurogane cupped his ears tightly in agony. "I don't want to hear your corny rubbish again! I'll just stay quiet!" What the ninja did not realize was a princess laughing at his crazy outburst.

It had been like a thousand years to the ninja that the princess had been walking. The dust had begun to increase in volume, as they ventured deeper into the abandoned building. To Tomoyo her beloved ninja had managed to keep shut for five minutes but she wished that he would open his mouth again.

"It's rather quiet here," she initiated a conversation. "Anything to say?"

"Shut up," he gave two words of warning. The ninja had pulled a long face and was bored out by the monotony of walking.

"Shut up?" Tomoyo giggled for a brief moment. "You meant to shut up there, Kuro-pii?" The princess looked up at the ceiling. Only carvings of a dragon decorated it.

The ninja could do nothing except roll his eyes at Tomoyo's corniness.

"I'm afraid you may have to end your bubbly conversation with Tomoyo-hime," Kurogane heard a sudden foreign voice from behind. His eyes widened as he turned around to see sheer darkness. His sharp ears picked up the sound of a katana swinging through the still cold hair.

"Who are you?" He drew his katana from its sheath. "Show yourself!"

"What a bad way of introducing yourself," the feminine voice answered to his action. As the shadows melted away, it revealed a young girl with a katana in her hand. Kurogane lowered down his sword.

"You're…just a child…" Kurogane looked at her with eyes of unseriousness. He was about to replace his sword in its sheath when she vanished instantly in a wave. "You're impressive."

The girl had discreetly and swiftly ran around him. Her katana was just positioned a few milimetres from the ninja's neck. Kurogane gave a sinister smile with his eyes looking behind at the enthusiastic child.

"For someone to learn such a technique," he answered back professionally and solemnly. "That master must be no ordinary swordsman."

"My teacher is no man," she swiftly moved away, avoiding Kurogane's sudden retaliation as he drew his sword and cast her away. A soft landing on the dusty red floor, the girl pointed her katana at her black opponent.

"I see," he positioned his sword in a vertical manner. Kurogane's piercing red eyes continued to meet the brown eyes of his opponent. "So there was the legend of a female master samurai."

"I may be young," she swung her sword through the air, replied with a swift block by Kurogane's weapon. "But a child been able to use _Kaze no Katana _should be no easy opponent of anyone, even an accomplished samurai like you."

"I'm a ninja," he corrected her with a slight drop of blood flowing down from his forehead. "Don't confuse samurai and ninja together, young girl." Kurogane charged at her, complemented with the many dodges she made against his thrusts.

"A brat like you seems impressive to dodge so many of my hits," he complimented with the girl now retaliating back as her sword began to strike against his.

Tomoyo strolled across the red chamber, unknowing of Kurogane's disappearance. Her eyes affix onto a unique glyph on one of the red pillars. Curious to appraise it, the princess approached it, taking each step second by second.

"I'll advise you not to touch that glyph," a voice sounded behind her as she was about to touch the unique glyph. She lowered her hand and smiled slightly.

"You must be a knowledgeable person," she responded calmly. The person revealed himself as a boy with green eyes. "I'm quite surprised your voice sounds familiar to the one my shikigami heard earlier."

"You're really smart for your age, Tomoyo-hime," he complimented, raising his head to look at the back of the princess. "I'll advise you to come with me."

"Is there a need to be that rushing?" She turned around to face the boy who produced the paper crane on his palm. Her eyes met the palm, responding with enthusiasm.

"I must thank you for returning my shikigami," she spoke back, taking the crane slowly from his palm. "Would you like to play with me?"

"I'll gladly play with you," he grinned back at the princess who was about the same age as her. "If you will come with me later."

"Let's bend the rules," she shook her head. "Let's having three rounds."

"That will be interesting, princess."

"If you lose, you will have to leave," she maintained her unfazed posture. "I don't play with people who are no fun at all." Tomoyo closed her palm, instantly extinguishing the green magical flame.

It was all darkness for a while before the boy conjured up a spell that lighted up the entire area with a yellowish glow. Tomoyo took a step back and moved her hands in a conjuring position.

"First round, we'll play the _kekkai _game," she announced.

"Let it begin." He snapped his fingers, displaying reddish out bursting flame.

The two katanas struck against each other, producing a metallic screeching sound throughout the dark corridor. A dim light had produced itself magically. Kurogane twisted his blade, only to meet with a blocking by his opponent.

"An impressive girl like you," he jumped backward from her. "In such a dark place you're able to perform well too."

He could only spot a smirk from the young samurai, met with a swift attack from her. As the blade sliced through his shoulder, Kurogane eyes widened as he witness blood spurt from it.

"You talk too much, ninja-san," she landed behind him. Her katana was stained with blood, its drops falling to the ground just like raindrops. "You're a strange ninja. Of all ninjas, you're the slowest of them all."

The black ninja fell on his knees, the blood still spouting out from his shoulder. Even for his black armor, the crimson colour of his blood was evidently distinguished from it. His pupils began to dilate. A pool of blood now began to encircle around the fallen ninja.

"What a useless ninja," she licked the blood off her katana. As the black kimono of hers flowed with a ghostly wind, she turned behind leaving the death scene. "Now it's up to you to handle the princess."

Behind the samurai girl the pool of blood around Kurogane had began pulsating, his still eyes now beginning to move again. A strange presence disturbed his opponent who was walking away. She turned around, just in time to block a surprise ambush from a rather black figure.

"No one can defeat the all powerful Kurogane," the monstrous and inhuman voice sounded out to the girl. There was no sword in his arm but now replaced with sharp-looking claws that looked like they could cut through anything, even steel.

"You're lying!" She retaliated back, swinging her sword and pushing the transformed ninja back. "You're a crazy monster. Y-you must have used the dark arts."

The monster now grinned, his red eyes now shining. The transformed Kurogane was now more transformed than he ever was. Heavy, slimy liquid dripped from his mouth with even sharper fangs now lining his mouth. It was truly a monster to be feared upon.

"The samurai Tsukumaru will now destroy this freak of nature," she spoke gallantly. "So this is why Tomoyo-hime wanted a ninja like you no matter how weak you were." Tsukumaru raised her katana again, pointing it at the monster.

"No one can defeat Kurogane," the freak hissed. It was not of Kurogane before but of a monster that knew nothing but bloodlust. "I'll take over this weaker human side and become the strongest in this world!"

Tsukumaru now began to tremble despite holding her weapon stable. "Y-you're just a crazy person," she raised her sword again, preparing for an attack. "I'll destroy you to protect the interests of my master!"

"Bring it on," it now screeched, tightening its white claws.

Tsukumaru charged with her katana, ready to pierce its abdomen and kill it instantly. She was about to come into contact with his claws when a sudden mysterious force shook her backwards, causing her to somersault back before the monstrous ninja. An emerald barrier surrounded Kurogane.

"I'm afraid I may have to halt your battle," she noticed a princess emerging from the shadows. "If Kurogane is not to be subdued, the curse will not be lifted," Tomoyo-hime had the most solemn look of all ages to come.

"Cooperate with her, Tsuku-chan," the other figure emerged from the darkness, clothed in a gray robe. "This was an entire plot preplanned by our master."

"Our master!" She had the most shocked expression on her face, dropping her katana to the ground. "Wasn't it our orders to take the princess?"

"The princess already have magical powers equal to our master," he lowered his head, turning his head to look at an angry Kurogane trying to break the strong emerald barrier around him. "Our master's main goal is to capture him, not Tomoyo-hime. It was just to lure her away."

"Y-you both have been bewitched by that monster," she took several steps back. "Wasn't master supposed to help us?"

"Tsuku-chan," the boy took a step forward, complemented with a step back by her. "You're most likely bewitched by the monster."

"You're all lying!"

"Tsuku-chan, I believe I need to tell you something," the princess walked forward up to the samurai girl, giving her a sharp slap on the cheek. "Please awaken."

"I know your master wanted to capture Kurogane," Tomoyo explained, holding the hand of Tsukumaru. "The spirits around here told me."

"The spirits?"

"You probably did not know," she continued her explanation. "The spirits here are just puppets of your master whom I do not know." Her eyes now descended to the look of a serious princess.

"This barrier is to protect Kurogane," she looked back at the angry transformed ninja. "The spirits are out to acquire him and take him away."

"But for what purpose?"

"Tomoyo-hime's ninja has a very powerful curse on him," the other person answered, looking at the barrier. "It seems it's the most forbidden curse ever seen by anyone, even sorcerers themselves."

"And we need to release these grieving spirits in this palace," Tomoyo picked up from where the co-magician had paused. "Your master has been manipulating a curse that has kept the inhabitants of this old palace for more than a century."

"Let's just keep this commotion down, children," the three of them heard a sudden voice that sounded from the top. The figure slowly descended down, revealing herself as a woman with a matured body yet young face.

"Shall we begin our game?"

**END OF CHRONICLE THIRTEEN**

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**NEXT CHRONICLE: THE ANTAGONIST'S BATTLE**

**SYPNOSIS: **So the evil antagonist has revealed herself? Can Tomoyo protect Kurogane from the evil magic of the sorceress? Or does she have to depend on a mysterious external force to prevent the barrier from breaking?

_**Nothing much for glossary today.**_

**SEE YA ALL SOON! I'LL BE BACK TO UPDATE SOMEMORE! **


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